


Miss Atomic Bomb

by JacosaValora



Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Language, F/M, Kinda, OOC Vulpes Inculta, Slow Build, Slow Burn, strangers to friends to enemies to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:53:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25652395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JacosaValora/pseuds/JacosaValora
Summary: We start the story in late summer of the year 2279; two years after the first battle of Hoover dam and the Legion has been making moves behind the scenes as they begin rebuilding their forces and the NCR has been looking for ways to expand, just barely noticing the new presence of enemy spies to their territories. The citizens of the wasteland are caught between an emerging battle between the NCR forces, Legion, Mr. house, and a Courier who has yet to arrive on the scene.Sylvia, our protagonist, has had a life of confusion and struggles starting with her parents dying when she was young and being entrusted to her seemingly sane Uncle where they resided in Nipton, a town dirty and deranged as ever. Things go south and she finds herself in a twisted series of events alongside the early stages of the second battle of Hoover dam. Catching the eye of the legion's newly promoted Frumentari is the least of her problems on a road to discovering her past.
Relationships: Vulpes Inculta/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	1. Intro To Sylvia

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: This is a work in progress, very little editing so far so if you see a problem I appreciate your input/comments, though I certainly don't expect you to be my editor. I just thought that I would post this now that I'm so far into the story and see what people think! thank you for being kind.  
> Also!!! Though this work is in third person, I have included the thoughts of some characters by using a set of forward slashes (/) to encapsulate the thoughts (to simulate italics)  
> ie: "Character's words spoken outloud" /additional dialogue; internal/ Narration etc.

The Mojave sun beat down on Nipton as the afternoon neared its peak. It was August 22nd 2279 and the inhabitants of Nipton and it’s sparse settlements arrived at the center of the town square to attend a meeting, as announced by the mayor. As individuals entered through it’s splintering double doors, the face of the town hall building seemed to tilt in an effort to ward off its visitors.   
Among the crowd entering the hall was a slender, red headed girl, dressed plainly in a tan jumpsuit which was stained with dirt on the knees and the cuffs of the sleeves. She, and several others, had just been let off work for the day form a farmstead eastways down the road. Chin length strands of hair fell into the girl’s freckled face as she studied an etching in the entrance door. Upon inspection, it was nothing more than lewd graffiti.   
“Bleck” she sounded aloud. Her face formed a sneer for a half second, displaying her disgust at the message. She continued on into the musty entryway letting her eyes adjust to the dim lighting. Sylvia, as she is called by most, is an apprehensive young woman about the age of 19, though no one was certain of her actual birthday. She lived with her uncle, Howard, on the edge of the main road. Her parents had been dead for at least 10 years now.   
Sylvia preferred the company of her binoculars to a crowd like the one currently assembling themselves into the hall, however, the sweltering heat persuaded her to partake in today’s meeting. As long as she could sit quietly, she could be content to observe the many personalities that called Nipton “Home”.... That is all to say that she is shy.   
“Hey Sylvie!” One of those personalities she wasn’t interested in dealing with was a boisterous male named Grant, a fellow farmstead employee, whose two loves were brahmin stew and the NCR. The blond man made his way through to Sylvia who gestured towards him with a less than enthusiastic wave barely nodding her head up at him.   
/I wish he would stop calling me ‘Sylvie’/ she thought.   
“Do you wanna sit together for the meeting?” He grinned at her, unaware of the effect his presence had on her.  
She stopped herself from being cold and dismissive of him and instead opted for a somewhat polite, “Uh, sure”. Sylvia had no real reason to say no, other than that she didn’t particularly want to sit with Grant. She figured it would be better than sitting next to a stranger. The two of them made their way to the furthest room back, where all the previous meetings had been held. There were rows of chairs set up on three sides of the room facing towards a desk that acted as the stage for most meetings.  
Slowly the seats filled to about half of the room's capacity. When it was apparent that no one else was coming two ushers closed the doors, ejecting the bright light of the sun completely, leaving the dim lighting to illuminate the space. Sylvia sat quietly thinking about how the building smelled like ozone, as the rest of the farmhands chatted around her.   
“So, did you hear what happened with the NCR the other day?” Grant leaned in excitedly, brushing his arm against hers.   
“Huh?” Sylvia broke from her thoughts as he nearly shouted in her ear, turning her head to see his face about an inch too close.   
“They found some legion troops snooping around this side of the colorado! But they totally kicked their butts haha!”   
“Oh, wow.” Grant was always going on about the NCR. When a recruitment patrol came into Nipton he was the first one in town to speak with their leading officer. Nearly every conversation they had was about the NCR and how ‘amazing’ they are. Sylvia felt differently on the subject and was more on the side of the many wastelanders that believed the NCR might be taking on more than they could handle (and wasn’t so sure their intentions were as pure as they made it seem).   
“Oh, and remember when I applied? Well, I just got word back that they’re sending a guide to take me up to McCarran for basic training in one week!” But this was Grant’s dream and who was she to complain about it?   
“That’s great, Grant.” Sylvia softly smiled, somewhat happy for him. /It is a pretty good way to earn a living, if it doesn’t earn you an early grave/ The silence that followed her half-hearted congratulation was awkward.   
Grant’s expression changed from one of happiness to somber as he took Sylvia’s hand in his own. Sylvia could feel her throat tighten anxiously at the sudden progression.   
“I'm going to miss you, Sylvie.” Sylvia slid her hand out of the grip and laughed nervously. She looked around to see if anyone was looking over, but everyone else was in their own world as they chattered away.  
“Well, at least you’ll get away from all these weirdos!” She attempted to ease the tension and change the subject but now Grant was looking dejected. /Why does he always make things so awkward/ he quickly perked up as he thought of something   
“Why don’t you come with me? I bet it’s not too late to apply and ship out together!”   
“Well-”  
“And you won’t have to deal with Howard anymore!” Sylvia’s Uncle was a notorious drug and alcohol addict and had all the bad qualities that came with it. Sylvia rarely vented her frustrations in between Grant’s NCR tangents but it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.   
“I’m fine.” /I don't really want to talk about this right now/ She gave Grant a look, letting him know she wasn’t up to it and he left her alone.   
Sylvia ignored her thoughts about her uncle for the time being to hum along to the tune of the radio playing in the background. She knew inside that she had to leave. It was only a matter of time before the living situation became even worse. But with no other family and nowhere else to go, the feeling was pushed away for the time being. She began picking the dirt out from under her nails and continued her hummung.   
With a quick ringing of a bell , everyone’s attention was drawn to the mayor for a moment as he finally stepped out. He was a short, sort of chubby man with a disheveled old suit and a prideful grin constantly plastered on his face. Most meetings like this were a way for everyone to feel like the town still had some sort of governance, however, it was slowly becoming a free for all. It was clear to anyone who paid attention, Mayor Steyn wasn’t so worried about the safety of his town, but rather the money flow and his own image. The problem, among many others, was that no one actually paid attention.   
The room continued to mumble with conversation, though at a lower level. The mayor began his meeting with a quote of the day. Sylvia was already daydreaming again. He went on to tell a cheesy joke, to which no one laughed. He did not have a very humorous face. The reasoning behind the meeting became less clear as it went on. Through ten whole minutes, the only words Sylvia picked up on, were:  
“Don't forget, we’ve got a new girl at the house so stop on by soon!” He was referring to his new ‘project’ to earn the town some more traffic, which he refused to admit was just a brothel. Some nights Sylvia could hear outside her window, drunken travellers boasting about their night as they strolled the nighttime streets of her town.  
The short meeting had an even shorter discussion portion near the end in which next to no one participated.   
“Mind if I walk you home?” Grant asked Sylvia as they stepped into the blazing sun.   
“You don't need to.” /He knows I only live at the end of the street./ Sylvia had other plans besides going home. She wanted to get out for a little sightseeing before sunset. A spot down the street was great for watching as the animals of the wasteland creeped out of their holes and caves for an evening hunt.   
“I insist.” Grant held out his arm as if to be her escort.   
“Okay fine” Sylvia cringed but conceded and begrudgingly followed Grant, kicking the redstone pebbles and dust as they walked to her trailer house a few hundred yards down the street. She hated when he treated her like a fragile kid. Less than one minute of awkward shuffling had them at her front door.   
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Sylvie..” Grant shifted a bit in his shoes. Obviously he wanted to say more.   
“Okay see ya!” Sylvia slipped through her front door quickly to avoid further awkward and somewhat self-serving conversation with him.  
The trailer itself had peeling floral wallpaper and looked to be a luxury camper in the old world. In its current state, it was completely stationary and seemed to even be sinking into the sandy earth below it. Howard was sitting on the worn out sofa in the mostly empty entrance room, save a radio droning quietly in the corner. The space around him had become darkened by the years of grease and dirt from constantly sitting in that same place for sometimes hours.   
“Hey girlie, can I talk to ya’?” /shit, why isn’t he just passed out or something?/ Sylvia was surprised to see him conscious let alone willing to have a conversation with her. It was something she usually tried to avoid ever since the first time he slapped her across the face for speaking out of turn.   
“Uh sure Uncle Howard” She walked over where he sat staring at the wall.   
“You know, your birthday’s comin’ up now and that got me thinking…” He paused to take a breath. His out of shape lungs struggled to even speak a full sentence. “As an adult you should contribute a little more to the household.”   
“But, I already buy most of the food! And-” Sylvia's protest was cut off by Howard slamming his hand on the small table beside him.   
“Goddamnit, woman don't interrupt me!” Sylvia looked on silently in response to his outburst “Well,” he returned to his previous composure quickly, patting down his few strands of hair and wiping some of the sweat with his fat hands. “What I was thinking was, that mayor there has a grand idea, having them girls and all...” Sylvia could feel the blood start to rise to her face. “You know you should think about joining them uh since you always seem to have your evenings free. You could make a great living as a uh one of them prostitutes.” He looked at her with his eyebrow raised as if to say it was more of a request than a suggestion.   
/Howard you absolute bastard. You don’t even know when my real birthday is anyway!/ Sylvia starred in angry silence and shock as her uncle seemed completely unperturbed by his own statements. She could barely spit out her next sentence without feeling like she could cry.   
“I’ll uh… think about it” Her face was bright with an embarrassment. To what extent her uncle thought about this ‘great’ plan was too much to consider. Sylvia was almost about to excuse herself when the door opened to a rugged looking man in merc gear.  
“Hey there pally ! And Sylvia, sweetheart, how have you been?” He was younger than Howard and had a pleasant grin as he walked into the room.   
“I'm okay, Reggie,” Sylvia responded. Reggie was one of Howard’s friends from a long time ago and had been friends with Sylvia’s parents before they passed. Sylvia had known him since she was just a toddler. He seemed alright to her, though she suspected he lived a not so wholesome lifestyle. He was kind to her and that’s what mattered most. As he passed by to sit next to Howard he rubbed his hand on her head, rustling her hair a bit. Between the two of them she considered Reggie more like her Uncle and had always wondered why her parents didn’t just leave her with him instead.   
“Do you mind grabbing us a couple of sasparillas and giving us a little privacy dear? I've just got some important business to discuss with your old Uncle” He had a charming smile that most people couldn't resist. With ridding herself of Howard for the time being as an added bonus she happily complied.   
/Thank the stars for Reggie/ she thought as she walked away into the dinky kitchen.   
“Thank you dear, these always taste better coming from you.” Reggie winked as if there was an inside joke or something. Sylvia did something in between a bow and a nod, somewhat confused, and left to her room. She didn’t feel like going out anymore anyways.


	2. Debased and Corrupt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nipton has always been like that, huh.

The next three days were business as usual, at least as ‘usual’ as things could be. Sylvia was extra cautious about not talking to Howard, though when they did happen to speak, he acted as though their previous conversation had never occurred.   
“It was so weird and horrible! I still can’t believe that it even happened.”   
“You know Sylvie, you could just join the NCR and get out of here like me..” Grant tried to keep up with Sylvia as she quickly hiked up to the weather vein. They had just finished work for the day.   
“You know I’m not going to do that!” She laughed as she ran for the last few steps up to the base of the twirling tower, dried grass crunching loudly beneath her brown leather work boots. “We already talked about this anyways.”   
“But you can’t stay here!”   
“Look, Grant” she stood above him on the hill, while mid-length stands of her ochre tinted hair blew into her face. He looked sadly up to her. “No offence, but trudging around the mojave in military gear isn’t my idea of a better life.” Her tone was light but she meant it seriously. /not to mention the risk to my health and even life/   
“Well, I just don’t think that’s very smart.” Grant grumbled impulsively. Sylvia made a sour face before placing a small pair of binoculars to her face. She sidestepped back and forth trying to find that perfect view of the valley below them. Grant felt impatient with her. His judgement often became clouded when talking with Sylvia. The small voice in his head couldn’t keep from becoming overwhelmed by his emotions.   
“Can’t you take anything seriously?!” He finally burst out in such a way that made her stop and face him entirely. Her eyebrows now creased upward. “Don’t look at me that way!” His voice cracked. “I just don’t get your problem with the NCR, and you just pretend that everything is okay with your uncle when it’s not and you won’t even help yourself….” He continued with haste, barely a breath between words. Sylvia couldn't get in a word edgewise. “If it were so bad at your uncle’s, then why haven’t you left already?” She stared at him, distraught at his sudden outburst. Though she knew he had some truth to what he was saying, she couldn’t see past the tone he had used for the moment.   
“I don’t know, Grant, lay off already, I guess I’m fine.” She turned to walk away, now upset that her sight-seeing was ruined. As she brushed past him a strong hand grabbed her upper arm, squeezing unnecessarily hard.   
“Owch! Grant, stop it.” Now she scowled at his desperate expression. He loosened, but did not release his grip.   
“Sylvie..” His voice sounded strained.   
“What.” She spat the word before softening, “you’re freaking me out dude, ugh” He finally realized his reaction was outlandish. For just a second longer he resisted her struggling before letting her go. She stumbled backward a few steps before scowling at him again and turning quickly away. Her hands were balled into small fists as she huffed her way down the hill.   
/Who does he think he is, telling me how to fix my life?/ Sylvia thought to herself as she made her way down the path back towards Nipton. I can figure this stuff out on my own, and I can take care of Howard by myself too./ Her imagination travelled into a darker section of her mind as she thought to the dagger strapped to her waist. By the time she could see the town hall in the distance, she had calmed down.   
/I’ll apologize to Grant tomorrow at work, he’ll have hopefully chilled out by then too/   
“Excuse me miss-” A manly voice startled her from her thoughts.   
“AhH! oh geez sorry” A man dressed in NCR gear stood before her on the dusty pathway.   
“You should be paying more attention.” He took on a patronizing tone /You snuck up on me dude, wow/ “Do you know the whereabouts of a mister... Stoneman?” He read aloud off of a clipboard.   
/Oh that’s Grant!/ “Oh uhm yes, he’s up by that weather vein right now” The soldier looked at her with just a touch of condescension before nodding and heading towards the hill she had just come down from. /what a rude man.../   
As Sylvia stepped through the doors of her home, Howard was yet again sitting on the couch in that same stained spot. The house felt quieter than usual. She assumed that meant he had done a deal earlier that day. He stared forward at the peeling paint on the wall as she walked down the hall into her room. Her room was bland except for the singular NCR poster hanging above the bed mat. Sitting down, she pulled out her journal to decompress a little.  
Some time passed as she scrawled out her thoughts, but it was not too long before Sylvia fell asleep with her journal underneath her face like a pillow. She only woke up to the sound of someone knocking at her window frame.  
“Pssst, Sylvie”   
“Huh?” She squinted her eyes in the dark of her room. The sun had set while she was asleep. Disoriented, she wobbled to stand up and peak out the window. Grant stood beyond the small screen looking as nervous as usual.   
“Hey, so, I’m sorry about earlier, I was being too harsh. I also came by to let you know….. I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”  
“What, really?” /I guess that was that man looking for him earlier/   
“Yea they came earlier than planned so I'll be going off to basic training!” He smiled a bit. “But uh I also had a question to ask you…”   
Sylvia sensed, even in her barely awake state, that his question was going to be weird. “Uh okay?”  
“Do you wanna spend the night at my place?” She turned red at the implication though at the sight of her shocked expression, he hurriedly added “No no I mean just sleep, not anything like /that/, although... I’ve had a crush on you some time now…” /Its obvious/  
“No, thank you, uh.” She didn’t know what to say. “Good luck though, er with the NCR.”  
“Yea, thanks Sylvie, sorry again about earlier, hopefully I'll see you round” With his final statement he left her window sill to go back to his place for the last night.  
/What a weird dude, hope he does well though I guess/   
Sylvia was now aware of how dry her mouth was and walked out into the kitchen to get a soda. The house was starkly dark compared to her room which had been lit by the lantern in the corner. She tried to blink a few times to adjust, but to no avail.   
She blindly rummaged through the garbage that filled the fridge before finding the last bottle of sarsaparilla in the back.   
“Aren’t you worried about the radiation?”   
“Huh?!” She quickly turned, nearly dropping her drink, startled by the sudden presence of a voice she didn’t recognize. A stringy man stood before her with deep circles around his eyes. In the darkness, he nearly looked like a ghoul. Two other men, wearing similar tattered outfits, sat in the living space. Her uncle was there lounging with a bottle of beer in hand. She settled slightly from her initial shock, used to having strangers in the house. Strangely the presence of her uncle comforted her. /Just some of his weirdo drug friends/   
“Uhm. no I don’t think this is enough to poison me uh…ha” /what a random question/  
“You shouldn’t be careless with your health at your age, you're still young.” The man started to reach for a millisecond before catching himself as Sylvia’s Uncle spoke from the darkness.   
“Syl, dear, come meet my friends.” Her uncle was very drunk already as he took another swig of his drink. The man in front of her stood aside to allow passage into the living room. Not wanting to upset her uncle in his volatile state, she meandered into the room to say hi.   
“Hello.” The four of them all looked blankly at her in varying degrees of sobriety. The man sitting closest to Howard looked to be the most well put together. He outstretched his hand for Sylvia to shake. As she tentatively reached to grab it he stood up, now with her wrist in a tight grip.   
“Hey!” She tugged back to no avail. “You’re hurting me” she whined. The man laughed lightheartedly and let go. Sylvia laughed nervously and sidestepped to get back into her room. As she did so, she stumbled into the other man, who had quietly moved from his place near the fridge. Before the alarm bells in her head could make her feet move he had wrapped his hands around her forearm.   
The other man who had been standing to the side of the couch very quickly grabbed the other arm.   
“Let go you creeps!” She struggled frantically. Not caring that her soda fell to the carpeted floor below her. “Howard! Get them off!” She began kicking the space around her, attempting to strike one of the men. Her arm began throbbing as the man to the left of her began squeezing, shutting off the flow of her blood. Several tears fell to the ground as she panicked. “Get off get off get off get off..!”   
Howard simply sat, as if the commotion around him was non-existent and continued to drink deeply. Sylvia realized there was no one who could help her and made a hard and lucky hit on one of the men, allowing one of herself to be freed. In what felt like an instant, she landed a blow to the other man’s genitals who howled as he fell to the floor. The man who had initially grabbed her reached around to catch her, however her flight or fight instincts gave her the extra maneuverability to avoid him. As she scrambled down the hall to her room the men behind her began bickering with one another.   
She grabbed her go-bag which held a small sum of caps as well as her survival kit. She heard the three men shuffling down the hallway as she began cutting the screen in her window. The door slammed open, shaking the entire trailer. Sylvia began climbing out the window. Cactus plants and loose siding scraped and pricked her legs as she lowered herself feet first out of the small window. Before she could get through all the way, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and a tug. Sylvia ran, only looking back into the window for a second to see a lock of her hair in the stranger’s hand.   
Every house in Nipton became suspiciously quiet. Desperate knocking was met with silence. Sylvia knew these people were home.   
“Please help me!” She seemed to say to no one as people meandered the main street. When met with someone out in the open the only response she got was awkward silence and avoidance of her and her persuants.   
“Get out of here!” Vagrants and Junkies yelled back worried they'd take their stash. She was getting tired of asking for help and needed to rid herself of her would be and still could be captors. /I know they can hear me! What is wrong with everybody?!/ She could feel her adrenaline was wearing off and an intense throbbing in her left arm began to surface. Her only choice was to run, despite the pain in her legs and no direction. She ran as fast as her body would allow it until she was surrounded by desert.   
Her face was hot and wet with sweat. As Sylvia slowed to a jog she could see the men were no longer following her. Quickly her senses caught up with her and the combined pain of her injuries and overexertion caused stars to form in her blackening vision. A hot flash ran through her spine and she heaved into the sand on all fours, coughing up the contents of her stomach. Her hands buried themselves angrily into the sand as tears wet her face once again.   
/What just happened?!/ “What just happened?!” Her voice carried into the lonely wind.   
Her frustrated sobbing was only made worse when she realized she was alone in the wasteland with nowhere to go, perhaps forever now. How could she go home?   
/They could be waiting for me/ She rolled over and layed on the still warm sand, staring up into the stars above. They entranced her hypnotically until she was nearly asleep on the ground. Such is the trick of the western night sky. Her false sense of serenity was quickly shattered by the chilling sound of a Deathclaw in the distance.   
/If I can hear it, it’s too close. I need to find shelter./ The aching in her muscles made it difficult to stand, but the fear she felt in her core overcame it. She recalled a homestead about a mile east, down the road from where she had ended up. The moonlit dewdrops in the sand led the way through the ever darkening night.   
Sylvia thought she was dreaming when she finally saw the flickering light of lanterns shining distantly through the windows of the farmstead. Her legs felt like they could give out underneath her.   
/Just another half mile and I can rest/   
Nearing the house, the presence of several others became apparent. It was the sound of shouting that suddenly broke the silence of the muggy night. Though she couldn’t decipher the reasoning behind the shouting on its own, as Sylvia strained her eyes to see the trio of men several yards away from the building, she could see what was going on. A blur of a faintly glowing, human-like shape was weaving between the men.   
/The Glowing one./ Sylvia recalled an early memory of her parents explaining everything they knew about ghouls, which happened to be a lot. She felt kind of bad for them, but knew that a feral ghoul could never return to humanity. As she watched from her safe distance she noticed more of the figures sweeping toward the trio.   
/This is odd. Ghouls aren’t so common in this area, usually. And now there’s at least five of them here now?/ Slowly she slinked toward the house that was still somewhat in the distance, crouching behind sparse foliage. Watching the men in the distance, she could tell they were having difficulties  
/it’s ok they can handle their own stuff…..or...uh/ She watched in disdain as one of the men collapsed in the wake of the glowing ghoul. /Shit now i have to help them/   
Sylvia rummaged through her go-bag to try and find something she could use to help. Avoiding combat was the goal, however her skills in packing for emergencies was lacking. All the while her head spun from exhaustion. The only thing she had of use was her dagger. After the events that unfolded in Nipton she had no choice but to help them out. She wouldn’t be like the filth she had left behind and just ignore those who were in need.   
Running towards the men as they struggled to keep up with the ghouls surrounding them the thoughts of the radiation only fleetingly crossed her mind. /I’ll be fine, I'll just go to a doctor tomorrow/. Like the ghouls themselves she had no hesitation as she flew out of the darkness to attack. The two conscious men stumbled a bit as she appeared very suddenly in front of them. Her wild display caused the focus of the other ghouls to turn to her instead. Allowing the two men to easily take them out. Sylvia focused the last drop of her strength on the ghoul below her as she slashed its rotten flesh.  
“Fuck you Howard!” she cried to herself as, for the third time this night, sandy tears impaired her vision and stung her eyes. In the moment it didn't matter that she had sustained yet another injury, now at the hands of a ghoul. In just a few seconds she stumbled off of the creature, seeing that the other ghouls had been slain. The two men, dressed in an oddly matching attire, tended to the man that had collapsed. She could see that he was still breathing, though her vision pulsated in time with her heartbeat.  
“Hey lady, are you okay?” One of the men shouted to her. Sylvia could only hear it distantly beneath the sound of waves as she tilted and eventually tumbled into the sand. Before they could say another word she was out cold.


	3. Frumentarii business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we follow Vulpes' pov. It's a shorter chapter so I may add to it later (mostly side details, nothing important I imagine) though, for now it is what it is.

“Why did you call me here?” A tall man with intense eyes asked in a low voice to the man next to him. “You’re lucky I was still in the area.” His voice, though quiet, cut through the silence of the surrounding desert with its naturally vicious tone. Vulpes Inculta had been on his way to New Vegas on a routine mission to meet with the various legion contacts. After two years of rebuilding, there was a strong network of allies to be kept up with. The man who called for him was the Decanus for this camp as well as the stand in doctor.   
It was early morning and the dew was still floating in the valleys around the freshly erected legion camp. It was smaller than a normal base encampment, as it was meant to be temporary and only contained enough space for one conterbirnia (a group of eight legionaries commanded by one or two Decanus). The two of them stood by the entrance of a medium sized canopy tent.   
“Well sir, to keep this brief, we know that you are far more experienced in profligate medicine ...As well as having been, conveniently, close by,” The two moved through to the interior of the tent. Inside were very limited rudimentary medical supplies. “And we need to ensure this is just an anomaly.” they continued into the tent to a segregated panel where a young woman slept. “Upon observation, it seemed this wasteland dweller is, well, resistant to radiation.” Vulpes stared ahead, neglecting a response to the Decanus whose face was riddled with concern. Not only for the situation, but for himself.   
/To bring a profligate woman into the camp, it must be something spectacular, or perhaps these men are just as mindless as I had suspected./  
The girl that slept before him bore several bruises and minor scrapes to the face and what he could see of her legs and arms. She looked to be younger than him but not by an extreme deficit (Him having just turned 26 years old). He thought to himself that if she weren't in such poor health she could make a good officer’s wife. /Lucius is always bemoaning the lack of ‘redheads’ though i'm not sure how much of that color is actually blood/ The Decanus, after explaining the fantastical ordeal that had occurred two nights previous of a young woman appearing from the darkness of night to take on several ghouls, offered to show Vulpes the injury she had sustained from one of the ghouls.   
Vulpes considered the story as he studied the human like claw marks located on the upper back of the woman. Where there should have been mangled flesh, blistering with a radioactive rash, there was just a normal incursion, as if he himself had taken a swipe at her skin, though rather animalistic. Comparatively, the recruit in the other room was at death’s door from the encounter.   
“This is certainly… interesting, however, a likely explanation is that come three days time she passes from radiation poisoning. The human body is quite strange and it expires in a multitude of ways.” Vulpes had not the patience nor the time to persecute the camp of legionaries for disobeying procedure. /I should string them on crosses here and now for succumbing to such weak foes./ “Update me if she ever wakes up.” With that he bid vale to the decanus, eager to get on with his excursion. It did worry him that the girl was free of any obvious signs of radiation, however to bring attention to it seemed useless. If she didn’t wake up soon she would die of dehydration.


	4. Home on the Wastes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sylvia decides moving on might be her best bet to cope with the trauma of leaving her lifelong home and encountering Caesar's Legion! She meets a friend along the way :)

Sunlight shone through the stitching of linen tent panels as Sylvia groggily opened her eyes. She couldn’t tell if it were evening or morning, neither could she recall what happened to land her in this state. Underneath her was a soft bed mat and the room smelled earthy and familiar though she knew she had never smelled it before. As she sat up, she remembered climbing out of her bedroom window and the pain in her forearm announced itself once again, as did many other injuries.   
“Ahh that stings” /where am i anyways?/ She felt too tired to get up and walk out what seemed to be a makeshift medical tent. She felt like a deathclaw had body slammed her. Paired with her various injuries, her head was now pounding too. She held her arm as if to soothe it when she heard rustling on the other side of the curtain. Suddenly the thought, not of where she was, but who she was with, started to give her panic. Could this be men from Nipton and they found her? /no..its too… clean here/ Some sort of.. tribe? The persuasion to leave without the answer was strong enough to pull her out from under her sheets.   
/Where’s my bag? shit!/ She shuffled through the empty bed as if her belongings would appear. There was nothing else around her to look through. /shit!/   
“Something wrong?” Sylvia spun her head to see a sandy haired man standing at the end of her room. In her own rustling she hadn’t noticed him walk through the flap “doorway”. Her startled stare made the man narrow his eyes, considering how to approach. He was dressed in strange armor that seemed to be made of sports equipment over a deep red tunic.   
/No that's Crimson... / Sylvia felt stupid as she realized, she was in the presence of the Caesar’s Legion. People she had only heard stories about from travelling NCR patrols and of anyone who knew about the battle of hoover dam. (Very few knew of, if even talked about the battle as far away as they were from the damn, however Grant, being the diehard NCR fan, had told Sylvia his version of the story enough times) Silently she stared at the man in front of her, not knowing what to say.   
Understanding of the shock she was feeling, the man continued on; “Your belongings were moved to a secure location while you were staying here at the camp. Do you… feel alright?” Clearly, he had not expected her to be on her feet and carefully moved forward as not to startle her.   
“Uhm…. yea I guess” She whispered feeling incredibly famished and honestly ached like mad but for the intent of the question she was alright. /why is he acting so weird? What happened?/  
“Interesting, well in that case, our Centurion wishes to speak with you. Be ready in 5 minutes.” He tosses her a set of wasteland clothing that looks to have been a scavenged uniform of some sort. It included a pair of black work pants and a damaged grey shirt with the robco logo on the front in a miniature embroidery. Only now she realized she had been in just her underclothes. With that, the unnamed man left and Sylvia stood in the center of the ‘room’ with conflicting feelings of embarrassment, confusion, and fear.   
Despite the apprehension she felt, she quickly changed and exited the tent. Outside of the closed off room was, what she had suspected all along, loose medical equipment strewn about the larger portion of the tent. Finally as she emerged into the sun, she could tell it was evening. The sky had started to form orange wisps of clouds that reflected the color of the setting mojave sun.   
/I wonder how long I was asleep?/   
“This way.” Now a different, but similarly dressed man led her through the small camp to presumably meet with the Centurion. /Or maybe to get murdered…!/ Sylvia didn’t usually let her mind bother her like this, though still tired, she was weak to the suggestions that had been thought. They passed a campfire which sat two young men chatting quietly and a row of white tents that sat open and empty of legionnaires across from them. At the end of the row she could see a man in a feathered hat speaking to a taller broodish man holding a metal helmet that featured a red plume near the back. She figured he was the so-called “Ken-toori-on” as their path became intersect with his position.   
As Sylvia stood alone in front of the centurion, the other two men had been dismissed upon her arrival, she noted how large this man was and how she was not. She decided that if even the stringy psychos her uncle had known could overpower her, charisma and luck were going to have to be on her side. /Although they were hopped up on drugs...maybe if I had been more prepared.../ The thought didn’t matter right now though as she stood shoeless with just the clothes given to her in her possession. The man before her began speaking.   
“Welcome to our camp, young one.” The man had a theatrically deep voice which easily captured Sylvia’s full, undivided attention. With a dry throat she just nodded. “I’m surprised you even woke up to be honest.”  
/wow was it that bad?/ “Wh-” She coughed a bit to get her voice back. It still came out somewhat weak. “What do you mean?” Her face looked as confused as she felt. The events beyond the borders of Nipton were a blur at best. She had assumed she just passed out in the sand somewhere and it was just her luck to be found by the New California Republic’s most wanted. /This, so far, is far better a situation than I had anticipated from the Legion, and thank the stars it wasn’t fiends.../   
“You don’t remember?” He raised his eyebrows before offering to sit down and go over the events. He introduced himself later as Marcus. He was one of the men that were involved when Sylvia appeared. The one who she had seen collapse, was still unconscious, recovering from severe radiation poisoning. She should have been in the same position, if not dead from the compounding injuries. Though it seemed she was lucky and the radiation had passed through her system without much damage.   
“I’ve seen stronger men, that withstood vigorous training, succumb to injuries lesser than yours.” He paused, as though he were still confounded by it. “Well, now you know the story, and as the leader of this camp I’ve decided, even against better judgement, that you are to be let loose to wherever you wish, though I cannot promise an encounter with us in the future will hold the same results.” She nodded carefully, though she would not pretend to know the policies of the legion. “As a thank you for assisting us, I’ve also had the decanus prepare a supply pack and had your garments washed for you.”   
“Thank you..” Sylvia held the soft cotton bag in her hands. It was relatively clean and smelled like the earthy rain smell that floated about the whole camp. “And… thank you for explaining everything that happened.”   
Sylvia left early the next morning after digesting the new information as well as refuelling on mesquite smoked mantis and plenty of water. She didn’t want to stay long enough for the sun, worrying that she might somehow overstay her welcome. The men acted nice towards her , but her knowledge of the legion was leading to a dubious conclusion that she cared not to see the end result of. Once again, she was alone in the wasteland with all the sounds of mojave hills.   
/Okay, first I need to find money./ The supplies she had been given could be enough to last her a few days or even a week (if she could make it last) but with no money, she had limited options of shelter. She took the path north, remembering there was supposed to be a town a few miles in that direction, hoping to find work.   
The trek through the hills was relatively quiet. Her soft footsteps left indents in the sand behind her as the aches and pains in her muscles distracted her from the healing wounds in her legs and back. She occasionally rubbed her head where the man in Nipton had torn a piece of her hair out. She hoped it would grow back. As she finally appeared from the uneven terrain and onto the main road, she saw a small heavily barricaded settlement. Two young men in NCR gear stood outside acting as guards.  
“Hey you! Stop!” one of the guards, a scrawny male, yelled over to Sylvia who had been zoning out.  
/Huh? me?/ Sylvia stood still by the side of the road. The guard who had shouted jogged over. Up close he had dark brown hair and a goatee. He wore a tan colors hat that matched the rest of his uniform and was a little taller than Sylvia.   
“Oh geez, nevermind.” He looked her up and down and signalled to the other guard it was alright and had a quick but full laugh “We’re pretty jumpy today I suppose, reports came in that the Legion camp across the river is sending over scouts.” Sylvia nodded. “Have you seen anything suspicious, dear?”   
Sylvia, having just come from a small, but fully functioning legion camp chose not to rat out those who had essentially saved her life “Uh, no sir.”  
“Where are you headed this early? If your a courier, you know, we’ll need to see your papers.” The soft blue light of morning finally made its way over the shadows from behind her, though the sky in front of her was still dark as night. The man in front of her was calm but she had some suspicions of him based on the flirty undertones he spoke with.   
“I’m not actually.. sure...I’m coming from Nipton, so I thought I’d head north to find work.” She shrugged her shoulders, trying to look as casual as a lonely night wanderer could look without being too specific. At the mention of Nipton, the guard looked like he was remembering something and nodded shortly. /Guess he must have visited the place at some point… seems the type/  
“So you don’t have papers, huh?” He seemed to be acting somewhat amused now with his hands resting on his hips.   
Sylvia eyed him with uncertainty. “No, sir.” /get on with this garbage/   
“Well, if you want to get more work up north, let's just see if we can sort out some documents for you. It’s easier to get a job that way.” She stood silently waiting for any more explanation. “Hey, I'm just trying to help out. A young woman out in the wastes needs all the help she can get and I'll do it for free too, huh? Not such a bad deal.” He shrugged his shoulders “If you don’t want free help, that’s okay too” With that he turned back towards his station.   
/Huh?? Okay fine. Let’s see what you got/ “Okay, I'm coming.”Sylvia began to follow him at a cautious distance. /The only documents I've ever had where my contracts with the farm… oh well I’ve also never left town so I’ll just see what this dudes deal is./ A caravan she hadn’t noticed coming up was now at the entrance with the other guard. A larger man was speaking with the guard while two other members of the caravan played with a deck of cards next to their brahmin. One of them looked up as Sylvia and the skinny guard approached and nodded to them. Sylvia responded with a miniscule wave towards them.   
“Hey Fernandez, Gonna take this one to get some paperwork.” The guard named Frenandez looked up from his clipboard, giving the man in front of Sylvia a sidelong glance and mumbled an exasperated;  
“Alright, Dunlap.” before going back to his task of checking in the caravan. The two continued forward into the encampment.   
“So, what kind of paperwork do I need? I’ve only ever done work with contracts so…” Sylvia questioned him as he unlocked the door to a small trailer.   
“Well certain workplaces, especially ones near Vegas, use a document indicating work experience to help with hiring.” /seems legit/ They walked into a small office space where he offered for her to sit on the grey green couch. “Coffee?”   
“Sure, thanks” Sylvia looked around the room. It was scantily decorated with NCR artifacts. A few medals hung from the wall closest to her and above the table holding the coffee maker was an old rifle.   
“Hey there, Dunlap, how's your side business as a predator coming along?” A rugged woman stands in the doorway of the trailer with a smarmy grin on her face. Sylvia instantly recognized her as the one who nodded at them just a few minutes ago.   
“Haha what? I’m just helping this young lady with her paperwork” Dunlap ignores the accusatory words thrown at him.   
/looks like these people have history uhhh/   
“You know you wont need those ‘papers’ if you work with us? What's your name by the way?” The woman was now talking to Sylvia.   
“Sylvia” She responded minimally, unsure of how this conversation was headed but somewhat amused.  
“Don’t listen to this creep, he’s just trying to get you in bed with him”   
“What!? That's completely untrue…” He had a nervous wobble to his voice now and Sylvia realized that it was indeed true. She laughed out loud for the first time in days.   
“Come with the caravan, Sylvia, we can feed you for free and get you some pay as a road hired mercenary, even if you don’t do any mercenary work” The woman now winked at Sylvia as she whispered the last part  
“Where are you guys headed?” Sylvia asked, suddenly she was fully engaged. Dunlap sighed and left the trailer to go back to his post, his personal mission failed.   
“Back to home base, I can get you a contract with the Crimson Caravan once we get there. The pay is pretty good and it’d be a free ride.”  
“Buy, why?” Sylvia was extremely suspicious at this too good to be true offer. A protected trip to the outskirts of New Vegas, with food included. There has to be some return.  
“I guess... I just like you. I'm Brandy by the way.” she outstretched her right hand for Sylvia to shake. Her nails looked way too long and were pretty dirty. Sylvia shook her hand anyways and followed her out of the trailer.  
“Come on now, Brandy, we still have a deadline to meet!” The large man called from the front gates of the complex. She urged Sylvia to follow as she jogged back over to the caravan.   
“Bringing another friend?” /Another?/   
“Yes sir, if that's alright with you” Brandy spoke like she already knew it was acceptable. “This is Sylvia!” Sylvia waved meekly at the large man. “Well, welcome aboard Sylvia, I’ll make sure we write you up a contract here soon. We can have Jeanie in Novac notarize it for us.”  
Sylvia felt excited about the new ventures that awaited her in the famously extravagant city and its local networks.


	5. Nero, Emperor of Rome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another adventure from Vulpes' point of view as he ventures into Gomorrah and strikes a demonic deal with its head members though he hasn't quite got the tolerance for alcohol that these founders of the strip have come to expect from the average deal-maker.

It was approximately half past 2 in the afternoon when a young looking boy in a newsboy cap approached Inculta who was in the middle of a cigarette on the outer walls of freeside. A small piece of paper was placed into his free hand. As he held it, finishing the last drag before twisting a heel on the illicit substance, he thought about his upcoming meetings for the week with several of the strip leaders. Gamorah was his first stop he would be due for, in less than 4 hours, followed by his choice of residence on the strip, Vault 21.   
Turning the note over revealed to him a coded message. This one was easy to decipher with each letter being assigned to a number as well as being written in a mixture of latin and english. It read: “Illa vivit. Locus: Novak, heading north. cc” He could feel his pulse for a short moment as he digested the update.   
/So, the little mouse is up and about/ Inculta considered the meaning of this. Not only was the young woman he saw in the tent alive, but she was in the company of the Crimson Caravan heading north. Nothing ever came as a shock to Inculta, however, this development did uneased him for several reasons. The foremost being that she should be dead. For the time being he decided not to alert Caesar of this anomaly. /Gods know he’ll just have her killed, which will be an immense waste of time for all parties/ An increase in observation was now guaranteed however. He lingered on the memory of her sleeping face, wondering briefly what color eyes she had. Once he saw her again, which he suspected would be sooner than later, he would have to take note of it.  
Once again the thought of the peculiar redhead tucked itself away as he entered Freeside. Inculta was prepared for the wall of stench as he walked through and moved quickly through the streets, ignoring the so-called “bodyguards” positioned at the entrance. Where someone would normally pitch themselves to anyone entering the walls in gamblers clothes, the sight of Vulpes had this intensity one would find themselves troubled to interrupt. He ignored everything around him including the vagrants pandering for caps, thugs giving those who passed a mean mug, and of course Dixon the dealer. /I can’t wait for his kind to be wiped out once all of this is over/ After stepping around a small crowd of bickering kings and regular freeside residents, he reached the front entrance to the strip, presenting his passport to the securitron guards. The mechanisms in the gate groaned against each other and the bright light of New Vegas shone through the space as it widened, welcoming Vulpes back to its streets of sin.  
He lit another cigarette, sitting himself in the space between the gates and the Lucky 38. He took out a small pocket notebook and wrote down the events of the last few hours, as well as transcribing the note he received in its original coded format before disposing of the original.   
As his first meeting, with Nero, and Big Sal, wasn’t for quite some time, he decided to pass some by canvassing some of the locals for extra tidbits of information.He found that persuading anyone was easy, particularly the female members of the NCR.   
/Perhaps somewhere amidst their drunken minds they can tell I’m their enemy, and for some reason, that intrigues them/ Vulpes thought of which psychological term would be best to describe the phenomenon as he eyed an already tipsy soldier near the entrance to Gamorah.   
“Excuse me, uh officer,” He purposely ranked her incorrectly, blowing smoke her way as he spoke, “Would you be able to tell me the time?” He was much too good at his job and with this one, the charms worked instantaneously as she rummaged her uniform for the timepiece. A shade of blush was present already on the flustered woman. Vulpes noted the way she glanced back up to him to meet his cool blue eyes. As she looked for the small device she used to keep time, Vulpes stepped ever slightly closer to her already within just a few feet.   
“Ah, yes sir, it's about twenty past 3 in the afternoon.”   
“Oh? Well lovely, I still have time before my meeting, are you off duty?” he smiled cutely at her.   
“Yes actually,” She giggled as if it weren’t obvious she had already been drinking a bit. “Why do you ask?” she batted her eyelids.  
/Not one for subtlety are you?/ Vulpes had to stop himself from rolling his eyes /Sometimes I wish it were harder/ Then he whisked the woman to a booth inside Gomorrah nuzzled into the corner of the main room. For just about an hour and a half they chatted and drank booze, though the latter was mostly her doing. In that short time Vulpes had learned the names of at least two of her commanding officers, her current work schedule, as well as the details of an exclusive party to be held in 13 days time as celebration for winning the battle of Hoover dam 2 years prior. /This could prove to be an excellent opportunity to gather extensive information from inebriated soldiers./ Vulpes was pleased with the information he had collected and bid the drunken woman adieu before heading out into the streets again. This time he just wanted to rest for a while. He had travelled almost nonstop since his meeting at the encampment and wished no more to deal with idiots.   
If he remembered correctly, there was a small secluded alleyway that had been used as an entrance to the strip in the past by spies and infiltrators around the time Vulpes first joined the Legion, and before he had been placed in command of the Frumenatarri. Since then it had not been used for quite some time and it seemed that no one had discovered it again. There was still legion paraphernalia discarded in the sandy rubble. Vulpes found a quiet niche in the shade where he could fit his lanky form, placed his cap over his eyes, and layed still daydreaming. Instead of the stagnant alley way, he imagined himself lying beneath a honey mesquite tree on a cool grey evening. Soon it would be autumn again and he dreamed he could be back home by then. Not to the dusty war camps, strategizing plans for a man he had lost respect for but a place where it was green and sometimes he could forget the life he led. Few and far between were moments in which he even consciously thought these things, always suspicious that someone skilled like himself would easily read the treasonous thoughts through the twitching of his facial muscles. Soon his moment of peaceful fantasizing would be over, as he drifted into a well deserved sleep.   
Sometime later the soft call of a mourning dove signalled the early signs of the setting sun. Instantly Inculta was back to business, collecting his hat and straightening out the jacket and pants. It was time to head to his meeting with the Omertas. They were to discuss a new partnership over dinner.   
As vulpes walked through the double doors of Gomorrah, he had to stop himself from sneering at the individual “greeting” him at the front as he patted him down for weapons. He flashed a card indicating his invitation to dinner, which was quickly dismissed with little direction of where he was to go. Gomorrah strippers, most of which were on some sort of drug, fondled him as he swept up the stairs. He shooed them harshly away as he grew more agitated.   
“Ahhh mister fox, it's a pleasure to have you here” Nero motioned to a chair in a small office across from his and Sal’s position. Soon after having sat down, a dainty woman in prostitute attire placed a hot plate of root vegetables and bighorner steak in front of each of them.  
/Nero has some kind of liquor in his wine and Sal eats left handed.. boring.../ Vulpes took small sips of the blood red wine they had poured for him, careful not to break his small tolerance. He would have to build it back up again for these sorts of missions.   
“So we heard from your “caesar” that there’s some opportunity for a sort of partnership?” Big Sal talked in a stereotypical gangsters accent, careful not to speak with food in his mouth. The pair had been sent word via mail, very few details were included. Now was Vulpes’ turn to lay out the plan in an enticing way. He talked as smoothly as ever and used his voice to his advantage. It caught the attention of anyone who heard it splayed out in such a delicate and lustful way.   
“So you’re saying in the plan, we end up in charge of the strip? What about your own fellas? Mr. Caesar must have someone in line for a position like this.” Nero eyed Vulpes with intrigue, hinting only slightly in a suspicion of betrayal.   
“Well you would be right in that assumption, my friend, however, we find it befitting that the leaders of our little new vegas be the ones who started it all. That is, after all, why we decided to contact you. You can take my word that no one has such an exquisite offer befelled to them by the mighty caesar.” Vulpes twirled his finger around the rim of the nearly empty [third] glass. He had to wrap things up soon before they filled the cup once again.   
“Okay, so say we agree to take on this partnership, what would you get out of it? I mean, it’s not like the citizens of New Vegas have any say in who's in control? Why do you need to kill them?” Big Sal was sold, but needed to ask another question to quench his curiosity. Vulpes could tell that the two of them wouldn’t understand the true benefit of destroying a people’s trust in their leadership. Not on the level he knew it to be true.   
“What do we gain from the partnership? From this plan? Well, first and foremost, we gain allies on the front, someone the people here would be more comfortable serving themselves to.” He grinned slightly as he saw the notion click in their minds. /Hunger for power and devotion overpowers many men’s judgement it seems/ “Secondly, a disaster in the main city would mean Mr.House, the one standing in our way of New Vegas and a known menace, would lose all credibility, not to mention the NCR who claim to have a stake in protecting this city. All they really want is the damn. The legion, however, wants to propagate a community here. And we are willing to let you be the benefactors for your integral role in this operation.” With those as the final fancifull words to his pitch the three of them happily signed the contract. Vulpes was almost too drunk to write his own name on the document. At some point,being the heavy drinker that Nero is, a bottle of whiskey had been opened, and several times he called for shots to be done. Inculta finally shooed the servant woman away as she tried to fill a 4th glass of wine for him. Perhaps there was a line in between being polite and being reckless.   
/I got the job done at least/ He thought as he strided through crowds towards his goal, a warm bed in vault 21. He would rendezvous with Alerio in the morning, hopefully with a clear head. /Dammit I knew I should have drank slower, i’m going to have a headache tomorrow for sure./


	6. Everything's better when you experience it in a vault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sylvia meets her new employer at the caravan and is given a job that requires she visit vault 21, a popular meeting place for Frumentarri agents and their informants. She sees the strip for the first time ever and Vulpes (under his alias) and her talk face to face for the first time.

Sylvia sat in the offices of the crimson caravan awaiting her first assignment. She had just arrived the night before last with Brandy and the other members of the caravan. It had been a weird couple of days.   
She reluctantly told Brandy her story in as little detail as possible, obviously excluding the part where the legion saved her life. Brandy stuck to her like glue for the duration of the trip, always interested in hearing more. Eventually Sylvia realized Brandy just thought she was cute. It didn’t bother her so much, as it led to getting a decent job. Sylvia just didn't feel like socializing. The thoughts of all that occurred still spun in her head like crazy but she simply couldn’t process it all.   
“Hey where'd you get that bag from?” the man sitting in the shadow of the office spoke up, startling Sylvia.   
“Huh? This? Oh a friend of mine gave it to me back in Nipton..”   
He nodded “hm. Thought i’d seen it before. Maybe there was a factory over there that made them or something.”   
The door of the building opened wide and a young man looking close to Sylvia's age stepped through the doors. She thought the blonde man was an entitled client with the way he walked until he sat down in front of her behind the big manager's desk. He grinned at her extending a hand.  
“Welcome aboard girlie, lets see what we can do wi- for you” Henry Jamison, as he was named, sat down patting dust off of his brown suit jacket. “So, what are you good at?” He spoke like a teenager almost in a whiney tone of voice, Sylvia had trouble believing he was in charge of such a large branch of the company.   
“Well,-”  
“Actually, I know what you can do! They told me you don't normally run with caravans so i won't make you do that silly stuff. How about you be like my assistant?” Henry seemed somewhat excited and spoke faster than Sylvia could intercept her own comments. “You can pick up my laundry and stuff. I’ll pay you good since you’re cute” He winked at her. Sylvia tried to contain the laughter that was swelling in her stomach. Promptly she was thrusted a contract to sign. Upon reading, it was just a general agreement to work such and such hours regarding duties such as secretary duties runner etc.   
“Anyways I kinda need you to do something for me really quick if you can” He handed her an envelope that smelled like cologne. A lot. “I can’t rely on the mail service anymore , they keep losing my letters. So could you hand deliver this to vault 21, there’s a girl named Sarah running the joint and I wanna ask her to dinner if you know what I mean haha” he winked and elbowed Sylvia a little too hard, almost shoving her out the door.   
/Well this is probably the weirdest employer i’ll ever have../ She squinted in the sun of midday walking to the supply cart to grab a snack. No one ever asked her to pay so every once in a while she took fruit off of the cart as a snack.   
Once she reached the gates of freeside, the nerves finally hit her. She had been warned by Brandy of what to do when she inevitably would travel into freeside sans guards. Walk straight, don't make eye contact, and look like you belong.   
/The first two are easy enough/ Sylvia thought. Upon seeing the state of freeside however she didn’t know how she was meant to accomplish the final step. It was dirty, smelled like urine, and everyone was either mean mugging the other, or asleep on the street.   
“You look like you need a guard ma’am, I'll escort you to the gates for 100 caps” A voice to the right of her noted. She looked up at the man in front of her, the other two guards peeking out of the corner of their eyes.   
“Uh, i’m alright, thanks though” the man in a white tee chuckled as he combed his greased hair back with a small switchblade comb.   
“It's your life pal” the other guards made attempts at soliciting their business but didn't make it far before Sylvia was on her way, by herself.  
/Even if i had the caps for that I wouldn't waste it on those chumps/   
Something caught her eye. A blue dress in the window of a shop.   
“Mick and Ralph's” Sylvia read aloud. She stepped into the cool(ish) building to see a man with shaggy hair sitting at the counter.  
“Excuse me?” He looked up, somewhat surprised to see a young woman unaccompanied before him. Quickly he stood up, sweeping his hair off of his face and greeted her.   
“How can I assist you? Did you need directions to the strip?” He seemed concerned  
“Actually that would be nice if you could help me out, i need to get to the gates” She quickly flashed her crimson caravan passport “but i also wanted to ask, how much is that dress there? She pointed at the mannequined garment.   
“Oh, that dress is 120 caps, miss.” Sylvia nodded feigning pensiveness hoping to mask her dissapointemnt.  
“Hmm. I might come back for that when I have someone to carry it for me”   
“Oh of course” He knowingly smirked and handed her a small hand drawn map detailing a safe route to the gates. “You’ll want to take this street straight through, if anyone gives you trouble, you're pretty, so just shout.”   
/Uh idk about that strategy.../  
Sylvia followed the path Mick had laid out for her, earning a few jeers and catcalls along the way though nothing extreme. The streets were somewhat more docile today perhaps because of the unusual heat, or maybe because Dixon doled out a new batch of Jet earlier that morning. Brandy made sure to warn Sylvia about Dixon and his notoriously addictive chems. Not that she would need any, but she was sure to avoid him either way.   
Finally she was face to face with the securitrons guarding the entrance to the strip. The metal creatures freaked her out more than she thought they would.   
/They have.. voices … and seem to move on their own will?/ Robotics were not a common trade of Nipton. She held out her passport to the one in front of her, uncertain it could actually tell what it was reading. A few whirring noises filled the next seconds before it confirmed her entrance.  
“Have a nice day”   
“Uh you too..” Sylvia moved through the space that had opened up in between the massive metal doors of the city and experienced a new level of shock upon seeing the fabulous buildings on the strip. Even without the lights brilliantly shining against a starry night sky the splendor of the casinos, the early morning sun shining through the tall buildings made it a different kind of beautiful. Slowly Sylvia stepped over the brick paved road passed drunken gamblers and pushy hookers trying to get a sale. It all felt like a weird dream, outside of any reality that she had known for the last 19 years of her life. The music was crisp in the air and she finally made it to the last leg of the strip where it wasn’t so busy with gamblers. There was the sign, displayed above a small rectangle building. ‘Vault 21 motel and gift shop’   
/Is this really a vault?/ Stepping through the double glass doors of the lobby, Sylvia was immediately greeted by Sarah Weintraub, the woman whom the letter was meant to be given to. She gave Sylvia the whole history of the Vault and invited her to take a self guided tour.  
“I’d come show you around the place but I gotta stay at the desk for now sweetie!”   
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Vulpes sat at the retro diner style table, sipping a black coffee that was now lukewarm. He ended up being 10 minutes early to meet Alerio who was walking up now. In that time he observed nothing significant although it was somewhat amusing when a couple started arguing about which one of them was going to approach the casino guard about their lost caps.   
“Good morning, Fox.” Alerio greeted him with his profligate name.   
“Morning, How has business been?” Vulpes used a pleasant voice to start their interaction. It signalled to any listeners that this was a casual meeting between friends rather than what its real intent was as serious business.There was never a shortage of opportunistic listeners in the strip.   
“It's been alright, here are my notes.” He passed a leather bound journal to Vulpes for him to study. “Yourself? I know you just got here a day or two ago.”   
“Yes. Things have been going… Swimmingly, to speak lightly of it.” He flipped open the book and took another sip of coffee. Coffee always made him restless for a cigarette. Two profligate vices he rarely was able to enjoy. In the background a radio flipped onto the rough voice of Mr.new vegas.   
/Blah I can't stand this drivel… /   
‘... if there's a Mrs. New Vegas. Well, of course there is. You're her. And you're still as perfect as the day we met.’ *music begins with soft trumpets* “Like a shooting star….”  
“Oh, just curious, what was that thing all about with Castra and the boys down south?” Castra meant camp in latin.   
/They must have given out a report about that idiotic impromptu encampment/ “Oh it was nothing, they had some injuries from a few ghouls. Nothing to warrant an encampment.” Vulpes didn’t bother sharing the information about the mysterious stranger.  
“Really? I heard rumours that they brought a girl to the camp. Just a wastelander! You were there right? Is that true?” /right i suppose someone must have heard wind of her/  
“Oh yes. The woman that attempted to incapacitate the ghouls at some point during the struggle. A foolish child, really” He passively continued to flip pages in the journal trying not to get agitated by the endless speaking on Alerios part. He was a bit too excited about drama for Vulpes’ taste.   
“You know if… He... found out, they all could get executed” Alerio seemed excited at the prospect of someone getting punished. The radio switched again, this time to a dead station.   
“Hmm yes, it was stupid of them, though nothing came of it…” /yet/ Vulpes paused halfway through his thought. /well this is … certainly interesting now/ He stared past Alerio towards the countertop where the radio sat as a slender girl continuously fiddled with the controls. Not just any girl, but the one who escaped from death and still perplexed Vulpes. Reddish blonde hair swept back and forth as she shifted the weight on her feet.   
/Of all the places she could be right now, here and right in my realm/ Vulpes watched as she fiddled with the volume dial on the radio, the signal fading in and out as she messed with the chanels by accident. Now Alerio was looking.   
“That’s actually her…there”   
“You mean she survived?! Is that one of our bags?” Alerio, somewhat too obviously, had turned himself to look as well.   
“Shh.” /Gods, how annoying can you be after living here for just a few months?/ Vulpes dismissed Alerio as he stood. It was time to learn more about this girl.   
Sylvia was unaware of the conversation going on about her as she finally got the radio to behave. /There, back to the music geez this thing is difficult/ She never messed with the one at home very much. As she stepped away from the device to look around the rest of the diner she stepped into someone who had suddenly been behind her.   
“Oh sorry, sir.” She politely apologized but froze for just a second. The sight of this man was intriguing, though she didn't know why.   
“Oh no, it was all my fault, don’t apologize” Vulpes quickly noted her light brown eyes and freckled complexion. He put on his best dashing smile before stepping back somewhat. “Are you new to the area?” Sylvia could tell he was looking at her attire and thought that maybe she looked like she had been living in freeside. /Shoot I should have bought that dress, now everyone thinks i'm slummy/ She thought for a moment before responding.   
“Yes,” She paused to glance at his steel blue eyes as they seemed to pierce through her own. “I suppose. But I'm just here on some work so..” she trailed off, not really knowing what to say to this intense stranger. She got a weird feeling from him but had not yet decided if it was necessarily bad and although the way he spoke seemed insincere something about his stance was so relaxed it took her off guard.   
“It seems you have time to fiddle with radios though, hm? If you like, I could show you around the strip? It's nice to know your way around especially if you are an errand runner.” He made an educated guess as to her job role within the caravan company based off of what he already knew about the branch manager, Henry Jamison.   
“Uhh, thanks but i think i should get going, maybe next time.” Sylvia wanted to accept the offer but not knowing this man made him suspicious from the start. Thinking back to the NCR guard from a few days ago, she would have to be more cautious with people. /Just because they aren’t from Nipton doesn’t mean they are saints.. /   
“Well, I’ll let you go on with your day then, miss…”   
“Sylvia.”  
“Ah yes, Sylvia, you can call me Fox.” /What a weird name/ she thought as they parted ways.   
Vulpes sat back down next to Alerio feeling odd. For some reason his usual charms didn’t sway the girl he now knew as Sylvia. He took out his notepad scribbling down a few words on a new page. “Sylvia: b. eyes, r. hair, cc, Cautious.”   
“Well?” Alerio started expectantly. “Find anything out?”  
“Just her name…” Vulpes ran his hand through his slightly grown out hair and closed his eyes, reclining in the plastic chair.   
“Why don’t you just send her with someone back to the fort?” He whispered “I mean, she encountered legion soldiers, that's the protocol!”   
“I know, but i wanted to keep an eye on her first. She may not be worth our time or effort.” Vulpes started to feel annoyed again and wished Alerio could mind his own tasks better. “Besides, he may just as well have her killed for the mistakes of those men, just giving her supplies like that.”   
“Hm” Alerio nodded, seeming to have made his own conclusion about the situation. Vulpes stood up, tired of discussing it, and decided to pursue the peculiar young woman with what was left of his afternoon.


	7. Lead Belly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sylvia has a strange encounter with

Sylvia went about the next 5 days without word or sight of the mysterious stranger that spoke to her then in the diner of the Vault 21 motel. Running occasional errands for Henry made the strip only somewhat less confusing. As she turned into another alleyway she cursed, half regretting not taking that tour from the mysterious ‘Fox’. Not far behind her, hidden in the shadows, was that mysterious man, as he took to surveying her activities on the strip, unbeknownst to her. Since the encounter Sylvia had shown exceptional loyalty to her saviors. Several interactions with the NCR passed and not one word was spoken about her brief time in the Legion camp. Even when questioned about her backpack, being obviously legion issued, she had a cover story.  
/Maybe she fears what the NCR would do with her in the event that she revealed her knowledge/ thought Vulpes as he sat observing her fiddle with her belt strap for the tenth time that day. He could tell she wasn’t much of a fan of any authority.  
Sylvia plucked a small bottle from a metal box that had been laying in the dusty alley. /Sweet a free sarsaparilla!/ she checked the sun and decided it was time for a break anyways. The laundry could be picked up a few minutes late. She scoped the area for an entrance to the abandoned building beside her, hoping to climb up to the top for a short relaxing session of people watching. It soothed her nerves to get back into a rhythm like the one she had back in Nipton, though instead of watching wasteland creatures hunt for their food, it was the inhabitants and tourists of the strip, which she found much more savage (and entertaining) to watch. All the while she was clueless to the disguised legion officer stalking her up the stairs.  
Before following her up, Vulpes checked the metal box for residual radiation. Sylvia had a habit of not checking that for herself, which was noted. The most important reason Vulpes decided to watch her in the first place, after he first heard of her survival, was to see how radiation affected her, hoping to find her sick one day and the incident involving the ghouls could then be ruled out as a fluke in her system. Unfortunately for him, she seemed to be incredibly lucky at scavenging. Everytime she plucked a little trinket or snack out of some seemingly ungodly place, the readings would show minimal levels of radiation in the area.  
/This brat is a waste of my time/ He roughly placed the radiation reader into its place. It had been a clean reading yet again. As he sat bored, watching her watch others, he became increasingly irritated by his side task. He could be having a cigarette right now, flattering some gambler woman for a tidbit of information. But here he was, watching this wasteland creature, supposedly hailing from Nipton, go about a regular and dull life on the strip and its outskirts. Vulpes was dismayed early on to find that although Sylvia was oblivious to her surroundings, she had a deft nose and could pick up the smell of his cigarettes, making it impossible to light one up when observing her.  
“Why don’t you let her be?” Alerio asked one morning during another meeting with him.  
“Because, ignoramoose, there is something off about the story. She should not have survived the radiation level that she encountered that night. The recruit that had fallen unconscious, died a day after she left the camp, and he was 80 pounds heavier than she could even hope to be.”  
Sylvia fiddled with her binoculars before folding them up into their assigned pocket. She was incredibly late to pick up Henry's laundry and the place closed soon. Vulpes duly followed her there, hoping to find one scrap of interesting information when he spotted a witch of a woman peddling her ‘health potions’ on the strip. The woman was hunched over a small pot pouring unknown ingredients into the boiling mixture and bottling them up into little glass jars, barely bothering to clean them first. She was well known on the strip as a lunatic, whose potions actually made people quite sick. Though, due to its nature, the strip attracted enough dimwitted tourists to the place that enough of them were stupid enough to purchase one of her bottles, funding her liscense to sell on the strip.  
/I’m such a dunce/ Vulpes studied closely and to his delight his hunch was correct, she was pouring the contents of several microfusion cells into the mixture. How she had not been killed by the exposure by now was a mystery.  
“Excuse me ma’am” Vulpes tipped his hat politely toward the woman, who abruptly looked up, giving him a nasty look. “I’d like to buy one of your health potions” He pointed to the sign strung up above her, spray painted in the handwriting of a child.  
“100 caps!” She barked immediately  
/Excuse me?! Anyone who actually pays that much for this deserves to drink the stuff.../ He dug into his bag for the caps. He only kept about 100 on him at a time as it was an impairment to his stealth to have them jingling in his pockets. He handed her all but 13 of the caps he was carrying giving her about 4 short for the potion. He needed the rest for his plan. “You sure do drive a hard bargain.” He attempted to jest with the elderly woman. She snatched the caps and traded him the almost glowing bottle. He quickly moved on down the street thankful she didn't bother to count the change  
Sylvia in the meantime, dragged the linen bag through the street, struggling with the weight of Henry’s clothing.  
“What in the universe is in this thing?!” she huffed out loud to herself straining to lift it above the ground. /I really don’t want to take two trips/ She paused to take a break already, just a few yards away from where she had started.  
“Need assistance with that?” A smooth sounding voice called to her from a little ways ahead of her. A lean man was walking toward her and the laundry pile and had walked nearly all the way to her before she recognized him as ‘Fox’.  
“Oh it's you from the other day!” She happily recollected. She remembered enjoying his foreign mannerisms despite being somewhat suspect.  
“Sylvia? I almost forgot you, hope you've been finding the city well... even without my tour.” Vulpes pretended he had not recognized her at first either. It nearly pained him to feign such naivety.  
/Dang i didn't realize i was so ordinary.../ “It’s been good, thank you for worrying though” She lied. Vulpes took note of the way she spoke.  
“Well I'm glad you haven’t gotten lost yet, would you like some help with.. that..?” He gestured toward the large sack of laundry she was resting on.  
“Oh, it's just my boss’ laundry, I'll be okay,” she spoke in a sing-song almost kind of way when she lied.  
“Aw, don’t deny me twice in one week! It’s my only joy to help others in this increasingly deranged world.” then without waiting for her response he picked up the heavy bag, throwing it over his shoulders. Sylvia looked up at him somewhat surprised that he could so easily lift the thing.  
/He seemed to be a bit… skinny./ She was relieved however, having no clue how she would have gotten it back to the company before dark on her own. “Wow. Thanks..”  
/How easily impressed she is now. If it weren’t for how she responded the other day, I’d think it quite easy to seduce her./  
Upon reaching the entrance of the Caravan Company Vulpes set the bag down lightly on the cracked pavement. He sighed to exaggerate the effort of it, though it was no worse than training days as a recruit. Without speaking he procured two glass bottles from his coat pockets. They were both sarsaparilla bottles though one of them contained half soda and the rest consisted of the highly radioactive substance he had purchased from the old hag on the street. The other was just plain water. Vulpes enjoyed cigarettes and coffee, but the texture and flavor of soda was one profligate pleasure he could not understand. He offered the radioactive bottle to Sylvia.  
“Bit of a trek over here, have my other soda. I don't need it.” She took it and watched as he opened up his own bottle. Both were resealed to simulate their legitimacy. Sylvia waited until he drank some before opening hers and taking a swig.  
“Ew how old is this bottle?” She laughed at the dusty flavor. In fact, it would have been a similar flavor to extremely expired sarsaparilla.  
“Sorry, I bought it from Jenny’s, their supply is usually fresh” Vulpes assured her and shrugged his shoulders. After sitting together briefly, Sylvia chugged the last of her drink, said her ‘thank yous’ and ‘goodbyes’ and ‘maybe we’ll run into each other again’s’, and headed into the grounds of the Crimson caravan company (Albeit struggling with the laundry once more). Quickly upon their farwell vulpes made his way through his own secured entrance into the company to observe Sylvia's health. Within the hour she should be deathly sick with radiation poisoning. /hopefully it will kill her and I can be done with this silly project./ But as the night sky flooded the view above him he felt an irritation growing. A few hours had passed and no sign of a violent radioactive death could be sensed.  
Slowly Vulpes slinked into the quarters where the caravan hands slept. It was not hard to spot Sylvia’s bunk, a lower one near the back of the building. Her arm dangled carelessly toward the floorboards. But she was alive. At this point reporting this was no question for Vulpes, though a closer look tempted him with answers. Up close Sylvia didn’t seem any different and for a second Vulpes though maybe he hadn’t put enough of the substance in her drink.  
/No, I'm sure, that would make even me incredibly ill/ He puzzled over the biological phenomenon while counting the seconds of Sylvia's breaths to make sure she was still in deep sleep.


	8. Frumentarri Business part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vulpes visits Gomorrah for his follow up meeting with the strip leaders, amused to see Sylvia getting herself into trouble, and wondering what kind of man Cachino really is.

“Helooooo sleepy head!” A man's voice called seemingly in the distance. “I need you to go get something for me… wake up !” A hand rubbed Sylvia’s shoulder and she rolled over opening her eyes, only barely.   
“Mr. Jamison?” she asked dozy-eyed. She felt like she had been sleeping for 30 years. As she went to sit up she got a headrush.   
“Have a fun night?” He laughed and patted her head. She thought for only a second but couldn't remember anything about the previous evening and felt too foggy to even try and remember. She noticed she had slept in her day clothes as well, oddly. The Sunlight shone into her eyes from the window on the far side of the building that faced west, causing her to blink in confusion.   
“Wait, what time is it?”   
“About 5 in the evening dear, you must have had quite a fun night on the strip to be sleeping in this late on a work day!”   
/Why didn’t brandy wake me up?!/ Sylvia thought. “Shoot, I’m so sorry-!”  
“Ahhh who am I to care,” he waved a hand flippantly, “I just needed you to go to Gomorrah for me in about an hour. I need you to deliver this and grab an order I had waiting on me and bring it back sometime tonight.” He carefully handed her a small bundle of cloth with something wrapped inside of it. “That's for Sandy, my order will be with Cachino.”   
“Okay got it.” Sylvia shooed Henry out of the barracks so she could dress for the evening as well as collect herself from having no memory yet again. I was a tough choice between her usual work clothes (the black cargos and grey tee) or the set the caravan company had provided which was an old field hand outfit. Neither provided many advantages as both had ample storage ability but without the apron over the field hand outfit it looked halfway decent as a dress which fit in more with a casino setting.   
/Feeling a little feminine i suppose.../ She sighed as she picked up the size too large dress and threw it on over her undergarments. From her bag she found a red colored ribbon that was being used to tie a cloth around the food the legion had given to her. She laced it into the loops on either side of the dress that normally would be used for the apron to secure it and tied it behind her in a bow.   
As she entered the Strip the casinos were just turning their lights on for the night and one by one they popped on and lit up the entire street. Sylvia was still amazed by the sight even after having been in the strip every day since she had arrived. Nothing in Nipton had ever been so beautiful. She looked to Gommorrah and something, or someone rather, caught her eye.   
Vulpes stood by the entrance of the casino, having a cigarette while chatting with a young man. His presence jogged a memory and Sylvia suddenly remembered she had seen him the previous night.  
/Right! I was getting that laundry and that Fox guy showed up to help./ She still couldn't remember what had happened in between that and going to bed, though maybe talking to him would reveal the missing information. The fogginess in her head felt similar to when she woke up after the incident with the ghouls down by Nipton but not nearly as bad and she barely noticed it for more than a second before reaching the front of the intimidating building, The spinning neon woman cast odd shadows along the pathway, making the dreamlike strip even more disorienting.   
“Heya!” Vulpes looked up and nodded to her  
/Oh he seems busy/ She slowly stepped up next to him and another man he was speaking with. The man looked at her weirdly and she wondered if she had seen him last night as well. Though no memory of his face crossed her mind.   
“Hello there Miss Sylvia, More errands tonite?” Vulpes eyed her with what she could only describe as boredom. /maybe it’s not a good time.../   
“Uh, yea, I should actually uh probably get to them... .” With an awkward laugh and pointing toward the doors, she walked into the building, flustered by the shift in tone. /I remember him being so much nicer yesterday, he must be in a bad mood...I hope I didn’t say anything weird last night!/ a brief flash of a hypothetical scenario, created in anxiety, crossed her mind and left just as quick.   
“Has she ever been inside there yet?” Alerio asked Vulpes who had by now thrown out his cigarette.   
“Not that I’ve seen. I wonder what business she’s on today..”   
“Did you report it, the radiation thing?” Vulpes nodded not really paying attention to Alerio. He had sent word to Caesar late last night after leaving Sylvia to sleep. It seemed she was completely fine, after a lethal dose of radiation. It was interesting enough to let Caesar know, though he wasn't quite sure what he would want to do about it and he had felt uneasy about it since he sent it off.   
/So is this where he’s been hanging about?/ Sylvia thought quizzically as the decadent view of the casino interior met her gaze. She had seen the prostitutes outside the building dancing to the music but the effect was enhanced in the lobby now with large smoke clouds billowing from tables, music that was almost too loud, and dazzling old world fixtures surprisingly well-kept and reflecting nearby lights into Sylvia's caramel eyes. The only other casino she had been into since starting her new job was the ultra-luxe. It was a short lived trip as the place had creeped her out and the staff were quite rude to her. The carpeting was so lush it was like stepping on a blanket of moss.   
“Hold it there sweetheart, we’re gonna have to search you for any weapons.” A large man beside her held out his arm as she, distracted, started to drift onto the casino floor.   
“Oh sorry.” She backed up, handing him her bag. He shuffled around the contents pulling out the bundle Henry had given her to deliver and smelled it, and then placed it back inside. He whispered something to the other door bouncer next to him.   
“Come this way” he gestured off to the side. The door opened again and Vulpes and Alerio strolled inside as Sylvia was guided to the side by the second bouncer. The first one nodded to Vulpes, who then sent Alerio off as he began speaking with the receptionist.   
/So he does hang out here a lot i guess/ Sylvia continued letting herself become distracted   
“I’m going to have to search your person now.”  
“Don't get carried away” She said with a sour face. Sylvia wasn’t sure how necessary it was to get a pat down when they just let Fox and his friend through without half a glance.   
“Don’t worry so much, honey” The man chuckled to himself as he started with her arms.   
Vulpes was watching the scene unfold out of the corner of his eye.   
/Can't these orcs keep their hands off their own guests?/ He was somewhat curious to see how Sylvia would react. As of yet, she was much more modest than the average profligate, though he figured he would see the other side of her soon enough. He sighed. /They’re all whores anyways./ He thought about everyone around him in the casino with disgust. He needed to get to his meeting soon. There would be a follow up meeting with the Omerta leaders to discuss two new members of their team in preparation for their plan. Next to him the receptionist gushed and offered to take him out with her friends for a ‘fun night out’.   
“Hey watch it!” The bouncers hands were placed over Sylvia’s chest and Vulpes could see she had become red in the face. It would have been almost amusing if she didn’t look like she was about to cry.   
“We can just kick you out of here missy, watch your mouth.” He moved down her waist as she fumed. /This is ridiculous!/ As his hand patted through to her legs she was relieved he left that area alone although the light squeeze on her thigh was a bit much. As he was just about to leave her be she sighed impatiently. “You got somewhere important to be?”   
“Well kind of-”  
“Well you’re not that special, hon.” With that he slapped her ass “Go on then.” without a second to think she spun around and punched the man in the face. Vulpes had to stop himself from grinning. The bouncer however grabbed Sylvia by her hair to hold her back as she went for another hit.   
“Thats it you brat, get the fuck out of here!” He tugged her arm and began to throw her out when Vulpes stepped in,  
“Marco, she’s with me” Both Sylvia and the bouncer looked up with surprised looks. The man let go of Sylvia somewhat tossing her aside   
“Tell your pet to keep her paws off of me,” He huffed. Vulpes stepped forward towards him and spoke quietly.   
“Speak to me again and I'll let Nero know he needs a new bouncer.” Sylvia shuddered at the intense tone Fox suddenly took on. ”Come here,” He was speaking to her now as he walked past the front desk. She gave a satisfied look over to the bouncer who stood dejected now. He didn't respond. Sylvia wondered more about the secretive life that Fox lived.   
“Trying to get yourself into trouble?” Vulpes asked her as they strolled through the casino floor.   
“You couldn't have stepped in a little earlier? I was being manhandled!” She ignored his question and wiped away the tear that had escaped during her quarrel. “Are you in charge of this place or something?”   
/Watch your tone, profligate../ “No, however I do have some business with the owners.”   
“Oh..” She trailed off of the conversation, getting distracted as they walked into Brimstone. She could feel her cheeks flush as a male dancer floated by letting his fingertips bush her face. When she looked behind her he winked and she quickly shot back looking straight ahead.   
“Oh?” Vulpes reminded her of his presence and looked to her now with an amused face.   
“Oh uh, sorry, I'm, uh, actually here on business too.”   
“That’s not a shock.”  
“Do you know who Sandy is? I've got to deliver something to her.”   
“I imagine that is one of the prostitutes in the yard. What is it that you need to deliver?”   
“I'm not sure it's wrapped up.”   
/Probably a gift from Henry then/ He silently speculated. “Just through those doors then, I better get going though, think you can handle yourself without getting in any more fights?” He teased her.   
“Yea thanks, i’ll be good now.” She responded in a sarcastic jest. Vulpes let a small laugh out as she parted ways into Brimstone. /How interesting/   
Sylvia stepped through the beaded curtain into the yard. It smelled like perfumes and incense and too much humidity. The thoughts she had had about her previous night's adventures had been forgotten again after the close call with the bouncer. Now her senses were being occupied by the sights and smells before her as glistening women floated about the scenic courtyard. Sprinkles of guests (both men and women) ogled the dancers near fire pits surrounded by cushions. It seemed too high class for a place like this.   
“What are you looking for sweetie? Someone to spend some time with?” Sylvia jumped startled by the raspy voice beside her.   
“Oh! Sorry yes, I mean no.. Im looking for Sandy? I have something to give her.”   
“I'm sure you do...she’s busy right now though, so why don’t you wait for her and pass the time with me?”   
“That’s alright. I'm just here for my work…”  
“The tent on the left there” she gestured toward a group of three cloth tents in the center of the yard. “She might be a minute.” Sylvia nodded thanking the woman before setting her stuff down in the grass beside the three tents.   
\---------_---___--_____----____-____-___--__------____-____-----___----___----_-_--__-----__-  
Vulpes swirled the wine in his glass as Nero, Sal, And Cachino bickered in the meeting room. He had come to inform cachino of the upcoming plan as well as a few other important pieces of information. Though the main purpose of this meeting was to follow up and see if the two heads of gomorrah were still enthusiastic about their roles in taking over the strip. He observed Cachino closely as they discussed his whereabouts the previous night and other trivial things. Their organization and sense of hierarchy was abysmal. Vulpes noted this and other observations to be written down post meeting.   
“Apologies, Mister Fox, welcome to our home once again.” Big sal ended the arguing and all three of the men sat at the table with Vulpes. Cachino looked like he was anxious for some reason and Vulpes was curious to find out why.   
As the night went on the four of them downed glass after glass of fancy wine, provided in part by Vulpes, though most of it was house stock from the casino. Much of the discussion had trailed onto frivolous talk of the women and the men who patroned them. Not all of it was useful though the reactions of certain topics did provide some insight.   
/seems Cachino has some skeletons in the closet/  
Vulpes could feel himself growing bored. It had been quite some time since they finished talking actual strategy or ideas. It seemed like it was becoming a waste of time and he was anxious to part. As he tried to think of a way to exit the conversation and end the night a woman came by the table and whispered to Cachino. Something about a visitor though it was obviously meant to be on the down low.   
/Hmm perhaps something of solid interest about this slug?/ Just then Cachino stood up and excused himself from the table, leaving his drunkard counterparts to finish with Mr.Fox.   
“Well I better get going as well gentlemen, as always it is a pleasure and I bid you vale” He hurriedly collected his things, tipping his hat on his way out into the halls. Striding through the dimly lit building he heard a familiar voice.  
/Sylvia is still here? And she’s meeting with Cachino./ Vulpes immediately figured it was for her boss and all his scandalous business. He wondered if Sylvia was even aware of the danger her boss placed her in on a daily basis. He was more interested, however, in what sort of side dealings Cachino was involved in.   
“You have the worst timing you know, and hey Henry sending his girlfriend now or what?”  
“No I'm his assistant.” Sylvia was uncomfortable with Cachino's demeanor. She sensed something was off with him.   
“Do you even know what you’re picking up for him?”   
“No he just told me you had a delivery for him.” Cachino laughed and shuffled in an unseen bag.   
“Here, now get out of here.”   
“What is it just a book or something?”   
“None of your business, kid. If you want I can make it your business but i have a feeling you wouldn’t like that. Now scram dammit you’re gonna get me caught.”   
Sylvia brushed by Vulpes’ hiding place not having an inkling of suspicion that he was there.   
/Cachino has a side business he doesn’t want the others to know about, hm interesting./ Vulpes would note this and plan to do a future raid of Cachino’s personal belongings to find out more, though for tonight and the second time this week, he was too drunk to continue.   
/Damn these gangsters./   
Sylvia moved away from the casino toward the gates of the strip to leave. It was late night now and she needed to deliver whatever this item was to Henry. As she walked the moonlit streets of new vegas she hardly noticed it was a touch more lively than it usually was due to a group of NCR men standing off to the side. They had a mess of flyers they were handing out to women as they passed by.  
“Here lady, come out to the party!” A paper the colors of the NCR flag was shoved toward Sylvia’s face. She instinctively grabbed it and crumbled it for invading her personal space.   
/A party?/ she realized that's what the flyer had been. She began to ashamedly un-crumble it as she walked without slowing her pace past the gate.   
“Celebrate the defeat of your enemies in a one night social event to be held at the NCR embassy street corner on September 15th!” Sylvia read allowed. “Oh so it's the anniversary of that hoover dam battle.. Blah so dumb I bet everyone there is gonna be-!” Sylvia fell to the pavement hitting it ass first. “Geeze.” She shook her head before a hand appeared presumably to help her up. She looked up to see a rosy cheeked Fox looking down on her with that same cold stare. She grabbed the hand noting how warm it was compared to the last time she had touched it.   
“Cant even watch where you’re going?” Vulpes asked her sarcastically but playfully. Though he had stood there on purpose. “What's this about a party?” /it must be that same party that woman had told me about when i first arrived. Perhaps i can take advantage of having her there as well for any additional information/  
“Oh yea, you want to go? This is the invite.” She said a little too aggressively, holding out the paper toward his center so he could take it.   
“I actually already have an invite but thank you for the offer.” Sylvia looked at him suspiciously.   
“Oh well then it can’t be that horrible then..” she muttered to herself.  
“Something against the NCR?”   
“Uhh.” Sylvia wasn’t sure how to answer him now. Through a few encounters with the mysterious Fox character she hadn’t learned enough to determine his feelings on the NCR and the fact that he had an invitation to their party probably meant he at least liked them, if not was affiliated in some way.   
“It’s all right, I’m not too keen on them myself, just going for the booze and snacks.” He whispered somewhat close to her now. Sylvia could smell the alcohol on his breath. He hadn’t realized how close he got but noticed a small blush appeared on her cheeks before she turned away.   
“Ohh haha well I better get this delivered before it gets too late... see ya round Fox!” She couldn’t help but smile to herself as she walked away from him towards the gates.   
/I’d never seen him buzzed like that, he’s always so serious./ She thought, as she giggled to herself.


	9. Meeting People

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somewhat of an intense chapter in which Sylvia and her Coworker Brandy, go to an NCR party on the strip celebrating the anniversary of their win at the hoover damn. You-know-who happens to see the event as a great opportunity to spy and had already planned on attending, however with an urgent message earlier in the day from Caesar, he realizes his fun in sin city is over. Grant makes a sorry appearance, somewhat driving Sylvia to her damning fated encounter with Fox.

The low lights in the yard of the Crimson Caravan made it difficult to see in the darkness as Sylvia slid her feet over the gravel path. The only light illuminating the space was a firepit softly glowing in between a few of the guards. From there, Sylvia saw a hand waving to her. It was Brandy.   
“Hey girlie, have a seat and a drink we were just getting started!” The other guards were all happily joking or playing cards with each other, a few looked up to nod to her as she approached. Sylvia sat down on the cool seat, quietly taking the bottle offered to her.  
/Whiskey, geeze okay/ “Thanks” She said with a slight smile.   
“So…” Brandy leaned in, already buzzed and full of her usual energy, “Who’s that guy you were with last night?”   
“Huh? Oh! Fox?” Sylvia had no recollection of him being at the caravan’s lot. /I guess he ended up helping me bring the laundry out/ “He’s someone from the strip, I’m not really sure what his whole deal is yet, though he seems nice enough I guess.”   
“Saw you guys having sasparillas together and was hoping you’d invite him in, he was really hot! And wow his name is Fox? Even hotter!” Sylvia sighed, relieved nothing weird had happened, albeit still puzzled by her memory lapse.   
“Oh...well, I don’t really know him..” /He is attractive I guess, never really paid that much attention to it./   
“You’re so shy, Syl!” Brandy erupted into a quick spout of laughter. “You gotta get some action, else worms might come out of your head.” Sylvia touched her face in response with a perturbed look on it.   
“Ew, Brandy, I won’t get worms!” She giggled.   
“Seriously though, you’re a like a fucking adult, you should try to have more fun, what did you do in Nipton? They have all kinds of nasty shit going on there!”  
“Mostly worked, and I liked to sit in this little perch and watch rad-scorpions and stuff.”   
“Snore! No boyfriend.. Or girlfriend?”   
“No, not really, though there was that guy Grant who had a huge crush on me” She stuck her tongue out in a sneer. “And my Uncle tried to convince me to be a prostitute before his fiend buddies tried to kidnap me…”   
“Oh yea ! What a dickhead, that really sucks. So you haven’t really experienced a whole lot huh?”   
Sylvia shrugged, “Guess not, it doesn’t bother me though, I prefer the simplicity of being alone, I guess.” She took a drink of her whiskey, feeling uneasy about confronting her shyness.   
Brandy furrowed her brow like she was thinking.   
“There’s gotta be something fun we can do… keep drinking that..” Suddenly her eyes locked onto the crumpled invitation Sylvia still grasped. “What’s that? A love letter?”  
“This? No.” She unfolded it showing it to Brandy. /I forgot I was even holding this/  
“Oh my goodness you should go! It would be so fun, the NCR has so much good booze!”  
“Hah, that’s what Fox said”   
“Wait, HE’S going to be there?!” Brandy stood up and grabbed Sylvia’s hands, “You have to go !” She was jumping from excitement.  
“I don’t think so... I’m not really a party person”   
“Well duh, there’s not many ‘parties’ where you’re from! Come on, it’ll be so fun, and i’ll come with so you don’t have to be scared.” Brandy was practically begging Sylvia to go out.  
/If it’s just one night, maybe she’ll drop it. And hey, maybe i’ll actually have fun/ Sylvia thought on it for a few seconds, considering maybe she had been stressed out and that's why she kept having weird memory lapses. A party could be distraction enough to get her mind off of her uncle for a few hours as well. Since that night, she’d had several nightmares of greasy fiends grabbing her out of her bed or while on her evening walks.   
“Okay, fine, we’ll go.”   
“Yippee!! It’s gonna be so fun I can’t wait!” Brandy jumped around excitedly before sitting back in her seat. Sylvia and her talked for hours, every once in a while Brandy would bring up some outfit plan or hair idea for the party, which Sylvia could only agree with as she had no clue the proper attire for that kind of an event. It came to her as odd they’d be hosting a party about the battle anyways.   
At some point Sylvia finally decided to head to bed, wobbling as she walked through the barracks to her bed.   
/It’d be nice to have a place by myself to sleep, I need more privacy../ She folded herself in the white sheets and felt the world turn half a second later. /I wonder where Fox lives.. Seems like he’d be somewhere cozy… Why do I care anyways? Ugh brandy got me thinking about him. Like yea i guess he looks pretty nice or whatever. So do a lot of people on the strip. He’s kind of familiar though i don't know why… smells like honey and smoke../  
Sylvia’s loose thoughts lulled her into a light sleep.   
The next four days were a whirl for everyone. Henry had more jobs than ever for Sylvia and at any free moment she had, Brandy would show up with a new idea on how to style their hair or what they should wear.   
“The party is tomorrow! I can’t believe you STILL have nothing to wear.” Brandy pouted as they walked through the front gates of freeside. She was taking her on a last minute shopping trip downtown, hoping her presence would pressure Sylvia into getting something decent.  
“I haven’t had time! And besides, isn’t the one I already have good enough?”  
“You mean the COMPANY issued work dress? No way, this is your chance to treat yourself to something nice!”   
Sylvia laughed as they trodded the ancient asphalt suddenly remembering the blue dress she saw at mick and ralph’s. The peeling label on the window flitted in the wind, but behind the dirty glass the dress was no longer in the display.   
“Can we check on something really quick?”   
“Huh, here?” Brandy pointed her thumb to the shop beside them. “I don’t think you’ll find much bu-.”   
“Come on!” Sylvia grabbed her hand sweeping her into the store. Brandy was somewhat surprised by Sylvia's sudden enthusiasm on the dress hunt.   
A quick look around showed the dress, or any dress for that matter, wasn’t in sight /shoot that one was actually really cute, and not too pricey either…/   
“Welcome ladies.” Mick was sitting at the front desk like he always seemed to do.   
“Excuse me, that blue dress that was here, do you still have it?”   
“Oh, I think that sold a few days ago, sorry, but we did just get a few rejects in from the strip, originally manufactured for the white glove society, but somebody must have washed them with the wrong water, they all turned pink.”   
“I don't know…” /Pink doesn’t seem like my color.../ Sylvia thought, looking at her pale complexion.   
“..Or we have this.” Behind him , Mick opened a cabinet to reveal a small closet, pulling out a garment bag. Inside was a creme colored dress (see photo: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F204562008060792794%2F&psig=AOvVaw3yplz_jXwlRjunPZeHRV37&ust=1586921067359000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCLDs2ub75ugCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAL ) and it’s delicately embroidered peplum jacket. The skirt looked about shin length coming from the bodice piece. Sylvia’s eyes glimmered. She almost reached out to touch it before Mick continued, “But just so you know, it was scavenged from a dress shop near LA.”   
Brandy and Sylvia looked at eachother with apprehension, each of them knowing the dress was most likely riddled with radiation.   
“I mean, it could be okay just for one night?” Brandy whispered.  
“Uhh , I'm not too sure..”  
“How much is it then?” Brandy took lead of the situation before Sylvia could argue anymore. She knew Sylvia would drag her feet on the issue all day and as much as Brandy loves a good shopping spree, there just wasn’t enough time in the day to be looking around for a suitable dress.   
“How about 60 caps?” Mick clearly was meaning to get rid of the piece.   
“Throw in a rad away and we’ll take it off your hands”   
“Alright, good luck then.”   
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Vulpes sat in one of the many empty tables in the white glove society’s private dining room. He was waiting for Marjorie to meet with him to discuss business. He staged himself as a wealthy ranch manager looking to sell product to the restaurant portion of the operation. It wouldn’t be as simple to present himself as a legion agent, like with the Omertas. Every attempt to reach out, had been ignored by the group. In synchrony with Vulpes feelings toward the white glove society, It seemed Marjorie was the one especially opposed to the Legion. Through a few reports, it seemed Mortimer did not share the sentiment, so it would be Vulpes’ job to either convince Marjorie... or dispose of her.   
Pondering the usefulness or perhaps un-usefulness of the elitist clan, vulpes drew his pointer finger around the stained tablecloth, anxious to get on with what he saw as a dead end.   
/Why they decided such a sad woman should be in charge of this place, I will never understand, though, I thank Mars that the deranged lunatic Mortimer isn't… at least for now/ As he looked across the empty hall, a familiar face rounded the corner in the proper white glove attire, which almost made Vulpes smile with excitement. The scrawny runner handed Vulpes a napkin and an empty glass. Vulpes knew inside the napkin would be a message. Given the way the boy walked to him and the unusual setting for a drop, he figured it must be something pressing, and he hoped that it could be enough to delay this dreadful meeting.   
‘Bring her’   
/Perhaps my hopes were set too high…/ Vulpes could feel that the air had left his chest. For him, this was one of the worst messages he could have received. Cutting his mission to the strip short, just so he could escort a, most likely, unwilling woman across Colorado, so Caesar could do who knows what with her. /He’s having me do a recruit’s job, for what reason I can’t determine… possibly just to torment me./  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Come on! Wake up Syl, we gotta get ready!” Brandy stood over Sylvia’s bed with her bangs in a roller. Sylvia wondered if brandy’s hair was always as short as it was now.   
“Huh? What time is it?” Sylvia could see it wasn’t more than past 9am from the sun shining through the window.   
“Well, it won't hurt to get ready… early?” Sylvia glared at her and turned over in bed. “Aw come on! At Least hang out with me and make it a day!”   
“Fine…I’m not letting you touch my face until after we eat lunch though” she flipped the sheet off of her body and got out of the cot.   
/I guess I could use a bath today huh./ Sylvia attempted to run her fingers through her tangly hair as she strolled to the community baths. It was a swampy place where everyone in the caravan could bathe, though Henry and a few other administrators had their own bathing quarters.   
In between eating, Brandy drug Sylvia around the camp from one end to the next as she readied herself for the party. Sylvia could see how excited she was and started to get into it as well. By the time they had finished her makeup it was time to leave.   
“And….. THERE! You’re done!” Brandy stood back to admire the canvas that was Sylvia’s face. She used a tinted cream made from brahmin milk and clay from the red-rock regions to color the cheeks, above the eyelids as well as a touch on the lips to mimic a naturally rosy complexion. With Sylvia already having a pale skin tone, not much was needed for the desired look. Brandy also took advantage of many old-world cosmetics she had acquired for her own dramatic look.   
As the two approached the city they could hear music being played, not only from the casinos now. The strip was as bustling as always with gamblers and dancers patrolling the gleaming streets. However, not as usual, the culmination of traffic was leading to the often abandoned looking NCR embassy which was adorned with patriotic decor. Sylvia couldn't help it when the word propaganda materialized in her head. It was all for PR. Even though she didn’t keep up with the news, little conversations from freeside and the strip made their way into her ears, and she knew tensions were starting to grow again at the hoover dam.   
/I supposed a good enough party could convince quite a few undecideds into supporting the cause/ The sour thoughts she had about the NCR fizzled for the time being as they presented their ticket to the ‘bouncer’ and she was reminded by Brandy’s non-stop giggling, that she could have fun.   
Sylvia could feel a twinge of excitement building as they entered the crowd. It was nearly overwhelming to the senses as the smell of cigars, alcohol, and women’s perfume mixed in the air around her. Brandy squeezed Sylvia’s hand excitedly.   
/Okay, maybe it’s time I let myself have fun and relax... /  
“I can’t believe how many beautiful people are here!” Brandy’s eyes were wide and her mouth hung open as half naked women and men pranced on the street in front of her.   
/I’m surprised she’s not literally drooling/ Sylvia followed brandy’s gaze to the many attending guests, she couldn’t decide where to look (Though she quickly learned where not to look). As she scanned the crowd someone thrusted a glass of clear liquid into her hand.   
“Here you are ladies, unwind and enjoy yourselves.” A young ncr recruit winked as he handed the two of them drinks and disappeared back into the crowd.   
“Here’s to your first party on the strip!”   
“Cheers!” Brandy chugged the entire glass as Sylvia tried to fight down the first swig. “This tastes like gasoline!” She laughed, still trying to drink the strong liquor.   
“What a great party, where do you wanna go? We could try dancing?”  
“I don’t know if I’m ready to dance yet, I’m enjoying just watching for now haha..” Sylvia never learned to dance, and she was sure no one here could teach her a dance she’d be willing to perform. It was an intimidating scene.   
“Okay, watch me and then come join after a song okay?”  
“Sure.” Sylvia stifled a giggle at Brandy’s childlike excitement to get sweaty with strangers.   
/I can't believe she’s older than me/ Sylvia poured out the rest of the toxic tasting booze on a flower bed with nothing in it and went to what looked like a snack table to peruse the options. /Hmm. Mystery meat, mystery meat, mystery souffle, eclairs?, and a lot of pre-war snacks./ She grabbed a fancy lad snack cake and unwrapped the ancient packaging and took a bite. /ugh this is sickeningly sweet/ She looked out into the crowd, seeing if she recognized anyone there. /I wonder if Fox is actually at this party?/   
“Sylvie?!”  
“Hm?” Sylvia turned her head to a familiar voice, though not sure where she remembered it from until her gaze met the bright green eyes of Grant. “Holy shit.” He wore a recruits uniform and had shorter hair now, but nothing could disguise the sorry look he had when he looked at Sylvia as she stared at him, mouth wide open.   
“Hey Sylvie! It’s so good to see you, I can’t believe it! What are you doing here??” He ran up as if to hug her but stopped half a second away, somehow attempting to ask permission with his eyes. Suddenly she wished she had joined Brandy on the dance floor.  
“Oh hello Grant. Yea, I uhh work around here now..” She awkwardly took a bite of the crumbling cake in her hand.   
“Gosh, you look excellent, I always knew you were pretty but geez! And that dress is adorable.” He gestured to her in a sweeping motion abandoning his awkward attempt at reunion hugs. “So anyways what happened? I heard you skipped town the night before I left, but I didn't have a chance to ask your uncle about it.”   
“Uh yea sort of…” Sylvia was always met with an irritating discomfort talking about the events that unfolded in Nipton. It sent shivers down her spine when she dwelled on the feeling of greasy hands grabbing her arms. Instinctively she grabbed her wrist to rub on the still healing bone. “I just had to leave I guess.” like that she flipped and laughed almost too loud for the situation. “I see that you made it in the NCR? That's great!”  
“Yea, I’m actually on a post-basic leave for the party, I bet it was fate that you ended up here too!”   
“Mmm, something like that I suppose..”   
“So..” He stepped in closer to her, almost towering above her. “Wanna dance?”   
“Uhhh, I'm not really into dancing..” /Not this again, I mean it’s been 5 minutes and he’s already back to the old routine/   
Just then, two other recruits joined on either side of Grant and leaned on his shoulders and at the same time Brandy spotted Sylvia.  
“There you are ! Woah I know I said you needed to get out more but three guys already?”   
“Shut up Brandy…” Sylvia shut down as the conversation had escalated out of her comfort zone.   
“Grant, who’s your friend there?”  
“Yea, How do you know such a fox?” The two of them were higher ranked soldiers not quite officers but clearly above Grant's paygrade.   
“She’s my friend from Nipton.”  
“Ohh.” The two men looked knowingly at one another. “Your little girlfriend?”   
“Well no, not quite…” Grant looked guilty of being caught in a lie as the men badgered him about Sylvia while Brandy stood to the side awkwardly, not sure of what to make of the display.   
Sylvia thought hard on a way to get out of the awkward situation /Maybe parties aren’t my thing, huh/   
“You ladies wanna go play roulette inside?” One of the men on Grant's shoulder stepped forward to the two women with his hands out. “We set up a whole gambling room and you two look like you like to have some fun.” Brandy and Sylvia looked at each other as Grant began to protest.  
“Hey guys chill out she’s just my friend, okay?”   
“Just a friend now? Well then what’s the problem, she can make her own decisions.”  
“No gambling for me.” she replied sternly, giving the three men in front of her a death glare.   
“I’ll play with you guys!” Brandy piped up.  
“Hey wait..!” Sylvia watched as Brandy trotted away.  
“Don’t worry about it, have fun with your friend!”   
/Oh great, she thinks she’s helping me out right now../   
“Well, how about that dance then?”   
“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. Excuse me..” Sylvia hastily walked in the opposite direction of Grant, the gambling, and the party in its entirety. She could feel herself becoming frustrated and wanted to avoid an outburst but suddenly walking away from the situation made her feel even worse.   
/I don’t want to dance, why can’t Grant leave me alone! And why DID Brandy leave me? I know we aren’t super close but why couldn’t she tell I was uncomfortable?/   
As she exited the radius of the party it became quieter and the small noises of the wasteland bled through the sheet metal walls. It made her miss how simple life was before she had to move away. Everyday was relatively the same; wakeup, go to work, observe the world around her, and at the end just avoid her loach of an uncle. Now things were different. Exciting in some ways, but it made Sylvia think too much on things she wasn’t ready to confront.   
\---------------------------------------------------------  
From the crowd, Vulpes watched, as he had been since the two women first arrived at the party. Sylvia had hastily left the crowd and was now standing in a puddle of moonlight. He set his drink down and adjusted his focus to study the situation. Now would normally be the time to approach her, however given the body language, she was irritated by something, or someone. /I wonder how she knows that sad looking man../ He pondered for a second, looking over to Grant who, himself, had lost sight of Sylvia. It wasn’t likely that she would accept an invitation to meet Caesar now. He continued to watch for the time being.   
/The night is still young, I’ll let her cool off and perhaps I can enjoy myself before getting back to business/   
\------------------------------------------------------------  
A new idea pushed Sylvia’s thoughts away when the moonlight shone onto her face from between the spaces on an old two story building. She looked up to the top and longed for the old feeling of being alone with her thoughts. This habit of loneliness was almost an addiction.   
/Maybe some sightseeing can clear my mind/ She thought as she stepped over the passed out vagrant splayed out before her on the base of the staircase. She used her hands to pull herself up the slimy concrete steps, somewhat careful to avoid the unconscious man. /Just a few minutes to look out onto the party and over the wall into the open wasteland will do me some good. Ugh I just wish Grant wasn’t around here-”  
“Ouch! Shit” The darkness prevented her from being able to see just in front of her and she slipped into the forien object, pressing it further into the palm of her hand. /Dammit it’s so dark what the hell pricked me?/ She held her hand to her chest, squinting to see in the dimly lit darkness for what accosted her. Glimmering on the corner of the stair was the silhouette of a syringe, presumably cast aside by the man still passed out a step below her... or perhaps just faded on med-x. She quickly picked up the syringe to see if anything was written on it.   
/It’s Med-x alright...single use syringe/ It was familiar to her after living with Howard for so long. Her hand throbbed painfully for a moment before it started to become tingly, then numb. Normally panic would have set in. She had just accidentally dosed herself with twice the med-x she could hypothetically handle.   
“It’s okay, I’ll just sit up here and relax. It can’t be that bad. I heard some people don’t even feel it their first time… or is that jet?” Sylvia hadn’t realized she had been speaking aloud. She had made it to the top of the stairs before the tingly feeling made its way to her shoulder and the perfect perch for sightseeing was revealed. A window to either side looked out into the night and that's where she sat herself. Her attempt to ignore the numbing sensation creeping via her bloodstream was short-lived as she nearly emptied her stomach looking down on the alleyway below. As she slid down, head in her knees, it was as though the floor tilted on its side over and over again.   
/Maybe I’ll just close my eyes and in a few minutes it will pass/ She sighed loudly, almost annoyed at herself for being so oblivious. She wondered how she would get home just before the mind numbing euphoria took over and thinking became pointless.   
After about 20 minutes had passed with only the progressively worsening feeling of waves all around her, Sylvia hadn’t noticed when a figure made its way up the stairs and stood in front of her.   
With the empty, discarded syringe in hand, he spoke.  
“You helpless idiot.” She looked up at the sound she registered as an indiscernible voice and waited for the delay in her vision to register the man in front of her. Moonlight still shone through the window behind her and illuminated the familiarly intense grey blue eyes.   
“Fox?”   
“Come here.” Something felt different about him; a feeling that Sylvia could barely sense. She attempted to move and nearly puked once again. “It was.. An acci..dent.” She held out her hand from where she was now laying on the ground. Vulpes instinctually felt disgusted at the state of her, looking the typical part of many New Vegas partiers. It was almost a pity feeling. But now he was performing his duty to Caesar and was easily able to put away those feelings as he carried the floppy Sylvia down the stairs of the ruined building.

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for any formatting issues, this is my first post here so it may take me some time to get used to the site.  
> Update Jan 6th 2021: Hey sorry for not having updated recently. I've seem to hit a terrible block and don't want to post some of the chapters preceding the place I'm struggling with just in case they end up changing as well. I'm not a writer usually so I do apologize for the slowness of this fic and appreciate everyone who reads in the meantime :)


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